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Anger |
|
Hell, wrote Jean-Paul Sartre, is other person.
And he didn't even know your boss, your in-laws or that infuriating
talk show host with the wrong opinion on everything.
Then there are your teenage son's new earring and the neighbor who lets her poodle yap all night. Be aware, though, that the longer the list of things that drive you up a wall, the more likely it is that you'll suffer health consequences. Research shows that carrying around a load of anger can hurt. One study of couples with high blood pressure found that a heated ten-minute argument caused a jump in pressure for both partners. And for those who are susceptible, anger can also bring on asthma symptoms and angina attacks. The remedies in this chapter-used with your doctor's approval-may help reduce everyday anger, according to some health professionals. |
| See Your Medical Doctor When... · You experience difficulty breathing or sudden breathlessness while angry. · You have chest pain or painful breathing. · You hurt yourself or another person. · Your angry behavior persists for long periods or interrupts family life. · You get into frequent fights. |
| Aromatherapy |
|
"Rose is a classic remedy for anger,"
says Los Angeles aromatic consultant John Steele. "We associate
it so strongly with beauty and love that it's almost impossible
to stay angry once we catch a whiff of the fragrance." It can
be inhaled directly from the bottle or dabbed on the pulse points
of the wrist, says Steele. If you're in a pinch, he recommends putting
a couple of drops of the essential oil on a handkerchief and inhaling.
But a more economical way to use this expensive oil is in a candle
diffuser. "Without a doubt, the oil goes further in a diffuser,
and you can share it with whomever happens to be in the room,"
says Steele.
For information on preparing and administering essential oils, including cautions about their use, see page 19. For information on purchasing essential oils, refer to the resource list on page 633. |
| Ayurveda |
|
"Anger is a psychological reaction to excess
pitta dosha," says Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director
of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (For more
information about the Ayurvedic doshas, see "All about Vata,
Pitta and Kapha" on page 28.) The first step toward controlling
anger, he says, is to follow a diet that emphasizes simple, bland
foods and eliminates hot, spicy dishes.
If chronic anger persists, Dr. Lad suggests using cooling oils to calm your emotions. Every morning, apply a drop of sandalwood essential oil to the area in the middle of your forehead, to the throat, to the breastbone, to the navel, to the temples and to the wrists. Before going to bed, rub one teaspoon of coconut oil on your scalp and on the soles of your feet, then take a warm shower before retiring. Sandalwood essential oil and coconut oil are available in most health food stores. When you're in the grip of sudden anger, Dr. Lad recommends steeping 1¼2 teaspoon of chamomile (available in most health food stores) and one tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro leaves in hot water for ten minutes. Allow the tea to cool, strain and sip it slowly. Certain forms of pranayama, a yogic breathing exercise, can dissipate anger, says Dr. Lad. "Whenever you're angry, make a tube of your tongue and breathe deeply through the tongue opening down into the belly," says Dr. Lad. "Hold the breath in your lower belly for up to a half-minute and then exhale through the nose." He recommends repeating this breathing pattern for a total of 12 to 24 breaths, twice daily. Dr. Lad also suggests putting a cotton ball in the right nostril and breathing only through the left nostril for about 1 hour. Or he says to try plugging your right ear with cotton and hearing only through the left ear for between 6 and 12 hours. According to Dr. Lad, these techniques will help open up channels to the right brain and cool down anger. |
| Flower Remedy/Essence Therapy |
|
"Children who have temper tantrums can really
benefit from a blend of Impatiens and Crab Apple," says Eve
Campanelli, Ph.D., a holistic family practitioner in Beverly Hills,
California. "Adults who experience dark, brooding, cynical
anger are usually reacting to hopelessness and frustration, so I
give them Gentian."
Flower remedies are available in some health food stores and through mail order. For information on preparing and administering flower remedies, see page 37. |
| Food Therapy |
|
Try not to overeat, and especially don't overdo
it on sugar, says Elson Haas, M.D., director of the Preventive Medical
Center of Marin in San Rafael, California and author of Staying
Healthy with Nutrition. "Any sugar overload can lead to anger,
because as your blood sugar shifts, you go from being up and happy
to down and irritable. The key is to reduce the sugar in your diet."
But reducing everything in your diet can also minimize food-related
anger bursts. When you overeat, he says, you become bloated and
full of gas. "That causes some people to feel agitated, frustrated
and angry. Smaller meals can solve that. Also, avoid mixing too
many foods per meal, which may not digest well and may cause gas."
|
| Homeopathy |
|
"If you feel more irritable than normal,
one remedy you can try is Nux Vomica," says Stephen Messer,
N.D., dean of the National Center for Homeopathy's summer school
and a naturopathic physician in Eugene, Oregon. He suggests taking
Nux Vomica 6C every four hours until you begin feeling less hostile.
Nux Vomica is available in many health food stores. To purchase homeopathic remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637. |
| Imagery |
|
Close your eyes and imagine looking at yourself
in a mirror. You'll probably realize that you look terrible when
you're angry, and you don't want to look like that. That may help
calm you down, according to Dennis Gersten, M.D., a San Diego psychiatrist
and publisher of Atlantis, a bi-monthly imagery newsletter.
On the other hand, if you tend to suppress your anger, imagine that you're in a room with the person you're angry with, Dr. Gersten says. Let yourself go and really chew him out as loud as you'd like. Then imagine that there are three buckets in front of you. One is filled with water, the second is filled with honey, and the third holds confetti. Dump the buckets on the head of the person in any order you'd like until you feel that the person has been punished enough. Then stop let go of your anger and chuckle. |
| Massage |
|
A 15-minute Hellerwork self-massage (page 575)
can ease or prevent the tension that people hold in their bodies
when they get angry, says Dan Bienenfeld, a certified Hellerwork
practitioner, a massage therapist and director of the Los Angeles
Healing Arts Center.
|
| Relaxation and Meditation |
|
Anger often dissipates after just 20 minutes
of quiet meditation, says Sundar Ramaswami, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist
at the F. S. Dubois Community Mental Health Center in Stamford,
Connecticut. To give meditation a try, see page 117.
|
| Sound Therapy |
|
It really is true: Music can soothe the savage
breast. So try listening to at least 20 to 30 minutes of relaxing
music when you're feeling angry, says Steven Halpern, Ph.D., composer,
researcher and author of Sound Health: The Music and Sounds That
Make Us Whole. To get started, turn on the music, then sit or lie
comfortably, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Dr. Halpern
suggests that you wear headphones to focus your full attention and
avoid distraction. He recommends, however, that you keep the speakers
playing, so your body absorbs the sound energy. While the music
plays, let your breath slow down and become steady. Listen not just
to the notes but to the silence between the notes. Dr. Halpern says
this will keep you from analyzing the music, which will allow it
to relax you.
For suggested pieces to relax by, see "Sailing Away to Key Largo" on page 129. Many of these pieces are available in music stores. For mail-order information, refer to the resource list on page 642. |
| Vitamin and Mineral Therapy |
|
Daily practice of the complete breath exercise and
meditation will help soothe hostility, says Alice Christensen, founder
and executive director of the American Yoga Association. Fear is
the true cause of hostility, Christensen says, and spending 5 minutes
doing the complete breath exercise (see page 152) and 15 to 20 minutes
doing meditation will help you deal with that fear. You can add
a second period of meditation during the day if you have time.
Kundalini Black Magic Reiki Hindu Temple Feng shui Mantra Tantra Yantra Puja Palmistry Dream Analysis Intuitions Kamasutra Vedas Rudraksh Sextherapy Spiritual healing Pranayama 12 Jyotir Ling Religion Tratak Therapy Astral Projection Guru Chakra Asana Sanatana Dharma Karma Yoga Astrology Mahabharata Shaktipith Mystery of Shakti Ayurveda Navgraha sloka Ramayana 16 Sanakara |
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