Scientists have identified a specific region of the brain called the amygdala, as the part of the brain that processes fear, triggers anger, and motivates us to act. It alerts us to danger and activates the fight or flight response.
The limbic system controls the experience and expression of emotions, as well as some automatic functions of the body. By producing emotions (such as fear, anger, pleasure, and sadness), the limbic system enables people to behave in ways that help them communicate and survive physical and psychologic upsets.
Epinephrine which is also known as adrenaline, is a chemical compound with formula (HO) 2C6H3CH (OH) CH2NHCH3 and is released while becoming angry.
The amygdala is a brain region responsible for regulating our perceptions of, and reactions to, aggression and fear.
the prefrontal cortex can shut down, allowing the amygdala, a locus for regulating emotional activity, to take over, inducing mental paralysis and panic. further the physiology of acute stress and are considering behavioral and pharmaceutical interventions to help us retain composure when the going gets tough.
Anger is a secondary emotion
Typically, we experience a primary emotion like fear, loss, or sadness first. Because these emotions create feelings of vulnerability and loss of control, they make us uncomfortable. One way of attempting to deal with these feelings is by subconsciously shifting into anger.
Adrenalin is known as 'fight or flight' hormone as it creates a specific response useful for situations of stress, anger or fear.
Anger can be caused by a number of different things. Factors such as your personality, your coping style, your relationships, and your stress levels can all play a part in determining how much anger you experience in response to different situations and triggers.
Many things can trigger anger attacks, including stress, financial issues, work, and social pressures, family or relationship troubles, lack of sleep, and even frustration over having panic disorder, agoraphobia, or another type of anxiety disorder.
Acquired amygdala damage reliably impairs fear conditioning, and behavioural, physiological and (in humans and perhaps other species, subjective) responses to threats [6–9].
What Is Serotonin Syndrome? Serotonin syndrome occurs when someone has an excess of the neurotransmitter serotonin in their nervous system. The condition's symptoms generally fall into three categories: Altered mental status (irritability, agitation, restlessness, and anxiety)
Damage to the brain can cause emotional and behavioural changes. Many brain injury survivors experience problems managing anger. This can lead to unpredictable, destructive and sometimes aggressive behaviour that can put a strain on relationships, work life and everyday activities.
The sympathetic nervous system is activated during anger, raising the heart rate, increasing muscle tension and sometimes creating the sensation of feeling hot.
The amygdala, located deep inside the brain, is part of the emotional brain. According to this theory, we only feel anxiety when signals from the emotional brain overpower the cognitive brain, and into our consciousness.
Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is a mental health condition marked by frequent impulsive anger outbursts or aggression.
SSRIs that have been shown to help with anger include citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), among others. Sertraline seems to have the most supporting data. Other classes of antidepressants, like serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), aren't widely used for treating anger.
Through his research, Fields outlines the nine primary triggers of the human rage circuit and puts them into the handy mnemonic LIFEMORTS: Life-or-death situation, Insult, Family, Environment, Mate, Order in society, Resources, Tribe and Stopped (being restrained or cornered).
Misophonia is a disorder in which certain sounds trigger emotional or physiological responses that some might perceive as unreasonable given the circumstance. Those who have misophonia might describe it as when a sound “drives you crazy.” Their reactions can range from anger and annoyance to panic and the need to flee.
The emotion of anger is associated with the choleric humor and can cause resentment and irritability. It is believed that this emotion is stored in the liver and gall bladder, which contain bile. Anger can cause headaches and hypertension which can in turn affect the stomach and the spleen.
Under some circumstances, oxytocin may increase aggression by enhancing reactivity to provocation and simultaneously lowering perceptions of danger that normally inhibit many women from retaliating. There is some evidence that high levels of estradiol and progesterone are associated with low levels of aggression.
Impulsive aggression is also said to be characterized by low cerebrospinal fluid levels of serotonin. Lower serotonin levels in the brain are also thought to be linked to poor orbitofrontal cortex function, which is in turn seen to be present in people with antisocial behavior.
Anger Can Be a Necessary and Useful Emotion:
At its core anger alerts us to threats and tells us when one of our fundamental needs has gone unmet or has been squashed. In doing so anger makes it clear to us who we are.
It can give you a way to express negative feelings, for example, or motivate you to find solutions to problems. But excessive anger can cause problems. Increased blood pressure and other physical changes associated with anger make it difficult to think straight and harm your physical and mental health.
Anger is Complicated
When we become angry, it is because we first feel something else: marginalized, hurt, disrespected, vulnerable, or neglected. In this way, anger is much more complicated than other emotions.