Do you get drunk on anger? Like alcohol or drugs, anger is highly addictive. It generates a rush of adrenaline which is temporarily very satisfying. It feeds something in our brains that we crave when we go on an anger high.

 

Our emotions are very complex. It is often very hard to get to the bottom of what we are really feeling and why. Anger is the easiest emotion to access when we are confused, frustrated, afraid, insecure or any other of the huge spectrum of negative emotions that plague us. In our hurt and pain we lash out, and at the time it feels very satisfying.

 

But just as the drunk wakes up with a hangover, the anger-holic usually lives to regret what they said or did in the heat of the moment. Regret generates a whole new wave of negative emotions, including shame, guilt and self justification, and the cycle often begins all over again.

 

We see it everywhere – road rage; shooting sprees; assaults. We shake our heads and say “Tut tut!” But on a smaller scale anger is even more insidious. You even see it in places like these blogs, where people lash out at others, gaining temporary satisfaction by spreading their poisonous feelings around. Yes, adrenaline is a poison, just like the toxic chemical components in alcohol and drugs that ultimately destroy us.

 

Human beings can’t help being angry. It is part of our “fight or flight” survival mechanism. But we can be selective about how we channel our anger. A brisk walk or a frenzy of cleaning dissipate the rage harmlessly. Feeding it simply builds it up and up and up.

 

If you recognize yourself in this description, then just like the alcoholic, you will probably react with denial. Some people never face up to their addictions. The brave ones will look at themselves in the mirror, decide that they don’t like what they see, and set about working on their anger-holism.

 

I’ll admit it. I’m still working on mine. But these days I am more likely to produce a clean toilet than a shameful outburst. It feels much better to be trying to overcome anger-holism than poisoning myself with adrenaline.