What Happens in Your Brain When You're Angry, According to Psychology

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsThe Brain’s Response to AngerPhysiological ChangesAnger and Mental HealthLong-Term EffectsManaging AngerImproving Anger Resilience

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

The Brain’s Response to Anger

Physiological Changes

Anger and Mental Health

Long-Term Effects

Managing Anger

Improving Anger Resilience

You’re heart’s pounding. Your muscles are tense. Your face feels like it’s on fire. In other words, you’re angry! We all know what anger feels like in our bodies, but what’s really going on in our heads when it feels like we’re about two seconds away from flipping a table?

Whether it’s one of those minor daily annoyances or something much bigger, a lot is happening in your brain when you get angry. “When you are angry, your‘fight-or-flight’ responseis activated, and your heart starts to beat faster,” explainsNoah Kass, DSW, LCSW. “Simultaneously, the part of your brain responsible for rational thinking—the prefrontal cortex—becomes less active.”

Basically, your body’s built-in alarm system comes online when you’re angry. And while this response can be helpful specifically during times of conflict, danger, or distress, sometimes “flight-or-flight” can do more harm than good. After all, these responses that once helped your ancestors survive don’t exactly come in handy when you’re answering a passive-aggressive email or stuck in traffic.

Knowinghow to deal with your angeris key. And lucky for you, you can learn how to manage your emotions with these therapist-approved tips down below. Ahead, you’ll find everything you need to know about what happens to your brain when you’re angry and how to build anger resilience.

If you’ve ever gone from completely chill to boiling over with rage in what feels like mere seconds, you’ve probably wondered how such dramatic shifts in mood happen. The answer lies in your brain’s built-in alarm system. It’s the good oldfight-or-flight responseat work. Your brain senses a threat and then prepares your body to either stay and deal with it or find some way to escape.

“Anger is a very old and fundamental emotion,” says psychiatristAlex Dimitriu, MD. “During such episodes, the emotional system becomes more active, while theprefrontal cortex(the thinking brain) gets suppressed. This can lead to irrational or regrettable behavior, intense outbursts, or violence at its worst.”

This process involves several key areas of thebrain:

The Amygdala

Theamygdalais a tiny, almond-shaped brain structure associated with emotions, memory, and learning. It plays a fundamental role in emotional reactions, including anger and fear.It’s an alarm alerting you to danger, but it sometimes has a bit of a hair trigger. It has a tendency to overreact to things that are actually completely harmless. When something triggers feelings of anger—whether it’s a minor irritation or a legit threat—the amygdala hits the panic button, which signals another part of the brain called the hypothalamus.

The Role of the Amygdala in Human Behavior and Emotion

The Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is a structure found deep within the brain that plays a part in maintaining homeostasis and influencing the body’sautonomic nervous system(ANS). The ANS is the part of your nervous system responsible for controlling unconscious processes like respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion.

It also makes up part of the body’s hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which regulates how you respond and deal with stress.When the hypothalamus activates the ANS, it triggers a series of reactions in your body. Your heart rate picks up, and you start to breathe faster and more shallowly.

The Prefrontal Cortex

While the amygdala and hypothalamus are all about sounding the alarm and preparing your body to deal with the threat, another region of the brain called the prefrontal cortex is there to evaluate the situation and dial down the emotions if necessary.

The prefrontal cortex is an area of the brain right behind your forehead. It’s responsible for things like judgment, reasoning, andself-regulation. “The prefrontal cortex is among the most recent evolutionary additions to our brains,” Dr. Dimitriu explains. “It’s the part of our brain that works to control impulses, plan ahead, consider consequences, as well as come up with solutions.”

It helps you evaluate situations, control your behavior, and manage your feelings. You can think of it as the level-headed, realistic part of your brain that tries to talk you down from doing things you might laterregret.

The prefrontal cortex allows us to think and plan before acting. With increasing levels of anger, the prefrontal cortex is increasingly shut down, as the evolutionarily older emotional brain takes control.—ALEX DIMITRIU, MD

—ALEX DIMITRIU, MD

When you get angry, the amygdala and prefrontal cortex are in conflict. Your amygdala is screaming that there’s a threat and you need to respond RIGHT NOW, while the prefrontal cortex urges you to calm down and think things through.

The problem is that the amygdala has a bit of a head start.

“The limbic system, of which the amygdala is a part of, takes control to assure survival, and in the absence of the prefrontal cortex, some inappropriate responses may occur,” Dr. Dimitriu explains.

That’s why you might lash out or send that angry text before the calmer, more rational part of your brain has a chance to catch up and give its input.

Brain Chemicals

It isn’t just certain structures in the brain that influence how you experience anger. Yourbrain’s neurochemicalshelp fire things up and determine how you feel and respond. These include:

These neurochemicals boost alertness, which, Dr. Dimitriu notes, can sometimes cause tunnel vision or hyperfocus. That’s why it can be so hard to focus on anything other than your anger.

The activity in your brain kept your ancestors alive (back when they needed to flee or fight serious threats in order to survive).The problem is that our brains don’t differentiate between serious threats (running from a prehistoric predator) and less threatening anger triggers (another car driving too slowly in the passing lane).

It fires up the same structures and neural pathways, which means we sometimes react in ways that seem out of proportion to the situation.

Recognizing that fact can help you understand why anger sometimes gets the best of us. It’s why we might makebad decisions, get worked up over small annoyances, and have trouble seeing things from someone else’s point of view. It’s also why we sometimes get “anger blindness,” or those times when you’re so mad we just can’t think straight.

Physiological Changes During Anger

When you are feeling angry, your brain is also sending out neurochemicals and signals that fire up your body so you’re physically primed and ready to deal with the problem. These include:

When “things get heated” during an argument, it’s not just a metaphor. Your body literally gets hotter and more tense.

Physical changes happen whether you’re facing a serious threat in your immediate environment or reading an obnoxious comment online that fills you with fury. Your body doesn’t distinguish; it just reacts.

Anger also tends to snowball. The physical and mental experience of anger sets off a cognitive/emotional feedback loop that can make you feel even angrier.

We all get angry, but there are times that anger might be a sign of something deeper. Evidence suggests that many people who experience symptoms of mental health conditions also report having problems managing their anger.

Dr. Dimitriu notes that, in many cases, people with strong anger reactivity may also have mental health conditions, including anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, and, more rarely, mania. “Hypersensitive peoplemay feel more than most and react more strongly, and this too may lead to anger outbursts,” he says.

Some conditions that are associated with anger include:

Depression

Sadness is a core symptom of depression, but it’s not the only one. For many people, particularly men,anger is often their primary symptomof depression.If you feel like you’re alwaysirritable, frustrated, or angry, it’s worth talking to your doctor about whether this symptom might be tied to depression.

Anxiety

Anger and fear are both linked to the amygdala. A lot of the reactions that happen in your brain when you’re angry are similar to the reactionswhen you are anxious. If you are experiencing symptoms of anxiety, that means that your brain is already in high alert mode.So, when something triggers feelings of anger, it may hit faster or harder than it might if you were in a more relaxed state.

ADHD

If you haveattention deficit hyperactvity disorder, you might already have a more challenging time when it comes to regulating your emotions. Research suggests that folks with ADHD struggle more withemotional dysregulation, which means they often have a tough time managing feelings of anger.

BPD

PTSD

Bipolar Disorder

Anger is also a common symptom ofmanic and hypomanic episodesofbipolar disorder. During these mood episodes, people often experience increased irritability and aggression.

It’s important to remember that anger is sometimes a sign that there is something deeper going on with your mental health. Paying attention to your symptoms and seeking treatment for underlying mental health conditions can help improve your ability to cope with feelings of anger.

Long-Term Effects of Anger on the Brain

Occasional anger isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can help you understand when something is wrong so you can take steps to fix the problem.

We all experience anger; it’s a useful emotion. Anger helps identify boundaries and teaches you to advocate for unmet needs. It motivates change and drives the effort necessary to make those changes happen.—NOAH KASS, DSW, LCSW

—NOAH KASS, DSW, LCSW

The problem is when anger becomes excessive, prolonged, and difficult to control.

Chronic feelings of anger not only feel awful, but they also take a serious toll on both your mental and physical health.

Anger Can Rewire Your Brain

If you keep hitting your mental alarm system day in and day out, it eventually starts to rewire how your brain works. Essentially, anger can beget more anger. “Repeated episodes of anger may certainly fortify the pathways that lead to more anger,” Dr. Dimitriu says.

Your brain’s amygdala (aka the fear and anger center) can also become more reactive. Your prefrontal cortex, which is so critical for reigning in excess anger, develops less connectivity.Essentially, the stress pathways in your brain become like a well-worn path, which makes it much easier for the stress and anger signals to fire.

It Can Affect Your Cognitive Abilities and Mental Health

“Chronic anger can lead to cognitive decline, impact stress responses, and worsen mental health conditions,” explains Dr. Kass. “It often co-occurs with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse diagnoses. Additionally, it has been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular and other health-related issues.”

Repeated, chronic anger also takes a toll on other cognitive abilities, like memory, concentration, and decision-making. Ever notice how it’s harder to recall things that happened during an outburst of anger? Or have you ever made a poor, impulsive choice in the heat of the moment?

Anger Hurts Your Health

It’s not just your brain that suffers. It can also have lingering effects on your body.

Long-term anger can result in:

Social Side EffectsNot surprisingly, anger also has serious social side effects as well. It weakens relationships. It can affect your ability to perform well at work. You may even start towithdraw from social situationsbecause they seem threatening or trigger feelings of irritability and anger.

Not surprisingly, anger also has serious social side effects as well. It weakens relationships. It can affect your ability to perform well at work. You may even start towithdraw from social situationsbecause they seem threatening or trigger feelings of irritability and anger.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. There are things you can do to reduce your anger, retrain your brain’s anger response, and develop new coping strategies. Research suggests that with time and practice, you can repair the damage anger has caused to your brain and body.Stress pathways can be rewired, and with continued practice, regulating your emotions will become much easier.

Changing your brain’s response to anger is a lot likelearning a new language–it takes time and effort, but the rewards are well worth it. The first step is to learn more about what’s happening in your brain (hence, why you’re here) so you can better recognize and manage your anger.

Managing Anger: Psychological and Neurological Approaches

Finding strategies that will work formanaging your angerdepends on things like 1) what’s causing it, 2) how severe it is, and 3) the resources you have available to you.

For occasional, minor feelings of anger, simple things like counting to ten or taking a few deep breaths can be a great place to start. These tactics can help cool you off and focus your mind in the heat of the moment, so your prefrontal cortex has a chance to catch up and offer some sage advice.

Some people may find these tactics underwhelming. Sometimes, you need a more serious strategy to help tame anger and get it under control in the long term.

If you can’t control your anger and it affects your personal or professional life, it’s time to reconsider your relationship with anger and how you manage it.—NOAH KASS, DSW, LCSW

If you can’t control your anger and it affects your personal or professional life, it’s time to reconsider your relationship with anger and how you manage it.

Strategies that can help include:

Prevention

Know the Signs

It’s also helpful to learn your own personal anger triggers. “Recognizingearly warning signs of angerhelps prevent escalation,” Dr. Kass says. “Anger is a surface emotion, masking deeper feelings like fear, disappointment, ordenial. Identifying the underlying emotion can help. For example: ‘I feel scared,’ ‘I feel disappointed,’ or ‘I feel something is unjust.’”

Questions to Ask YourselfDr. Kass also notes that anger often stems from unmet needs. He recommends asking yourself:When do I get angry?Do certain situations or individuals trigger my anger?What physical sensations do I feel when I start getting angry?What thoughts occur when I’m angry?What physical or psychological symptoms signal that my anger is becoming unmanageable?

Questions to Ask Yourself

Dr. Kass also notes that anger often stems from unmet needs. He recommends asking yourself:When do I get angry?Do certain situations or individuals trigger my anger?What physical sensations do I feel when I start getting angry?What thoughts occur when I’m angry?What physical or psychological symptoms signal that my anger is becoming unmanageable?

Dr. Kass also notes that anger often stems from unmet needs. He recommends asking yourself:

Signs of anger can be physical, mental, and behavioral, so keep your eye out for indicators so you can take action to eliminate the trigger or find a way to reign in your irritation before it gets out of hand.

Coping When Anger Strikes

When your anger is rising and you need an immediate outlet, consider trying these proven hacks:

Breathing and grounding exercises activate the parasympathetic nervous system, relaxing the body and mind.—NOAH KASS, DSW, LCSW

Breathing and grounding exercises activate the parasympathetic nervous system, relaxing the body and mind.

What do you do if it’s really bad and you’re starting to feel out of control? In these cases, give yourself a time-out. Communicate your need for a break and remove yourself from the situation. Do what you need to do to relax and give yourself time to calm down.

How to Stop Being Angry All the Time

Long-Term Strategies to Improve Anger Resilience

It’s also important to take steps to build your resilience to anger over the long term. Some strategies that can help include:

“Start an anger diary to track triggers and coping strategies. A helpful question to ask when angry is: ‘What am I going to do about it?’” Dr. Kass suggests.

Keep in MindJust remember, all of these strategies work best when you practice them during calm moments. It’s like building a muscle. Working on that strength means you’ll have it when you really need it.

Keep in Mind

Just remember, all of these strategies work best when you practice them during calm moments. It’s like building a muscle. Working on that strength means you’ll have it when you really need it.

Takeaways

Anger doesn’t have to be your enemy. By understanding what happens in your brain when you’re angry, you’ll be able to recognize that anger often serves as an important signal. But you’ll also be able to see that your anger isn’t always appropriate given the specific situation. Knowing this can help you recognize your stress triggers and manage your response effectively.

The key? Star with something small. Pick a strategy and practice it regularly, and consider talking to a mental health professional if you need some extra help dealing with feelings of excessive anger.

“For anyone with frequent anger episodes, it helps to speak with a professional to understand the roots of the behavior, the underlying level of anxiety or sensitivity, and what can be done to lower this,” Dr. Dimitriu says.

If you or a loved one are struggling with anger, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

The 12 Best Anger Management Resources, Tested and Reviewed

18 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Šimić G, Tkalčić M, Vukić V, et al.Understanding emotions: Origins and roles of the amygdala.Biomolecules. 2021;11(6):823. doi:10.3390/biom11060823Gouveia FV, Hamani C, Fonoff ET, et al.Amygdala and hypothalamus: Historical overview with focus on aggression.Neurosurgery. 2019;85(1):11-30. doi:10.1093/neuros/nyy635Dunlavey CJ.Introduction to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: Healthy and dysregulated stress responses, developmental stress and neurodegeneration.J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. 2018;16(2):R59-R60.American Psychological Association.Stress effects on the body.Sell A.The evolutionary psychology of anger. In: Kappelhoff H, Bakels JH, Lehmann H, Schmitt C, eds.Emotionen. J.B. Metzler; 2019:174-179. doi:10.1007/978-3-476-05353-4_25Oka T. Psychogenic fever:How psychological stress affects body temperature in the clinical population.Temperature (Austin). 2015;2(3):368-378. doi:10.1080/23328940.2015.1056907Alia-Klein N, Gan G, Gilam G, et al.The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions.Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2020;108:480-497. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002O’Gorman KM, Wilson MJ, Seidler ZE, et al.Male-type depression mediates the relationship between avoidant coping and suicidal edeation in men.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(17):10874. doi:10.3390/ijerph191710874Walsh LM, Wolk CB, Haimes EMB, Jensen-Doss A, Beidas RS.The relationship between anger and anxiety symptoms in youth with anxiety disorders.J Child Adolesc Couns. 2018;4(2):117-133. doi:10.1080/23727810.2017.1381930Nigg JT, Karalunas SL, Gustafsson HC, et al.Evaluating chronic emotional dysregulation and irritability in relation to ADHD and depression genetic risk in children with ADHD.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2020;61(2):205-214. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13132Martino F, Caselli G, Di Tommaso J, et al.Anger and depressive ruminations as predictors of dysregulated behaviours in borderline personality disorder.Clin Psychol Psychother. 2018;25(2):188-194. doi:10.1002/cpp.215Contractor AA, Weiss NH, Dranger P, Ruggero C, Armour C.PTSD’s risky behavior criterion: Relation with DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters and psychopathology.Psychiatry Res. 2017;252:215–222. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.03.008Suppes T, Eberhard J, Lemming O, Young AH, McIntyre RS.Anxiety, irritability, and agitation as indicators of bipolar mania with depressive symptoms: A post hoc analysis of two clinical trials.Int J Bipolar Disord. 2017;5(1):36. doi:10.1186/s40345-017-0103-7American Psychological Association.Understanding anger: How psychologists help with anger problems.Siep N, Tonnaer F, van de Ven V, Arntz A, Raine A, Cima M.Anger provocation increases limbic and decreases medial prefrontal cortex connectivity with the left amygdala in reactive aggressive violent offenders.Brain Imaging Behav. 2019;13(5):1311-1323. doi:10.1007/s11682-018-9945-6Anjanappa S, Govindan R, Munivenkatappa M, Bhaskarapillai B.Effectiveness of anger management program on anger level, problem solving skills, communication skills, and adjustment among school-going adolescents.J Educ Health Promot. 2023;12:90. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_1216_22Mahindru A, Patil P, Agrawal V.Role of physical activity on mental health and well-being: A review.Cureus. 2023;15(1):e33475. doi:10.7759/cureus.33475Levy-Gigi E, Shamay-Tsoory S.Affect labeling: The role of timing and intensity.PLoS One. 2022;17(12):e0279303. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0279303

18 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Šimić G, Tkalčić M, Vukić V, et al.Understanding emotions: Origins and roles of the amygdala.Biomolecules. 2021;11(6):823. doi:10.3390/biom11060823Gouveia FV, Hamani C, Fonoff ET, et al.Amygdala and hypothalamus: Historical overview with focus on aggression.Neurosurgery. 2019;85(1):11-30. doi:10.1093/neuros/nyy635Dunlavey CJ.Introduction to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: Healthy and dysregulated stress responses, developmental stress and neurodegeneration.J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. 2018;16(2):R59-R60.American Psychological Association.Stress effects on the body.Sell A.The evolutionary psychology of anger. In: Kappelhoff H, Bakels JH, Lehmann H, Schmitt C, eds.Emotionen. J.B. Metzler; 2019:174-179. doi:10.1007/978-3-476-05353-4_25Oka T. Psychogenic fever:How psychological stress affects body temperature in the clinical population.Temperature (Austin). 2015;2(3):368-378. doi:10.1080/23328940.2015.1056907Alia-Klein N, Gan G, Gilam G, et al.The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions.Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2020;108:480-497. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002O’Gorman KM, Wilson MJ, Seidler ZE, et al.Male-type depression mediates the relationship between avoidant coping and suicidal edeation in men.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(17):10874. doi:10.3390/ijerph191710874Walsh LM, Wolk CB, Haimes EMB, Jensen-Doss A, Beidas RS.The relationship between anger and anxiety symptoms in youth with anxiety disorders.J Child Adolesc Couns. 2018;4(2):117-133. doi:10.1080/23727810.2017.1381930Nigg JT, Karalunas SL, Gustafsson HC, et al.Evaluating chronic emotional dysregulation and irritability in relation to ADHD and depression genetic risk in children with ADHD.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2020;61(2):205-214. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13132Martino F, Caselli G, Di Tommaso J, et al.Anger and depressive ruminations as predictors of dysregulated behaviours in borderline personality disorder.Clin Psychol Psychother. 2018;25(2):188-194. doi:10.1002/cpp.215Contractor AA, Weiss NH, Dranger P, Ruggero C, Armour C.PTSD’s risky behavior criterion: Relation with DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters and psychopathology.Psychiatry Res. 2017;252:215–222. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.03.008Suppes T, Eberhard J, Lemming O, Young AH, McIntyre RS.Anxiety, irritability, and agitation as indicators of bipolar mania with depressive symptoms: A post hoc analysis of two clinical trials.Int J Bipolar Disord. 2017;5(1):36. doi:10.1186/s40345-017-0103-7American Psychological Association.Understanding anger: How psychologists help with anger problems.Siep N, Tonnaer F, van de Ven V, Arntz A, Raine A, Cima M.Anger provocation increases limbic and decreases medial prefrontal cortex connectivity with the left amygdala in reactive aggressive violent offenders.Brain Imaging Behav. 2019;13(5):1311-1323. doi:10.1007/s11682-018-9945-6Anjanappa S, Govindan R, Munivenkatappa M, Bhaskarapillai B.Effectiveness of anger management program on anger level, problem solving skills, communication skills, and adjustment among school-going adolescents.J Educ Health Promot. 2023;12:90. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_1216_22Mahindru A, Patil P, Agrawal V.Role of physical activity on mental health and well-being: A review.Cureus. 2023;15(1):e33475. doi:10.7759/cureus.33475Levy-Gigi E, Shamay-Tsoory S.Affect labeling: The role of timing and intensity.PLoS One. 2022;17(12):e0279303. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0279303

Šimić G, Tkalčić M, Vukić V, et al.Understanding emotions: Origins and roles of the amygdala.Biomolecules. 2021;11(6):823. doi:10.3390/biom11060823Gouveia FV, Hamani C, Fonoff ET, et al.Amygdala and hypothalamus: Historical overview with focus on aggression.Neurosurgery. 2019;85(1):11-30. doi:10.1093/neuros/nyy635Dunlavey CJ.Introduction to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: Healthy and dysregulated stress responses, developmental stress and neurodegeneration.J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. 2018;16(2):R59-R60.American Psychological Association.Stress effects on the body.Sell A.The evolutionary psychology of anger. In: Kappelhoff H, Bakels JH, Lehmann H, Schmitt C, eds.Emotionen. J.B. Metzler; 2019:174-179. doi:10.1007/978-3-476-05353-4_25Oka T. Psychogenic fever:How psychological stress affects body temperature in the clinical population.Temperature (Austin). 2015;2(3):368-378. doi:10.1080/23328940.2015.1056907Alia-Klein N, Gan G, Gilam G, et al.The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions.Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2020;108:480-497. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002O’Gorman KM, Wilson MJ, Seidler ZE, et al.Male-type depression mediates the relationship between avoidant coping and suicidal edeation in men.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(17):10874. doi:10.3390/ijerph191710874Walsh LM, Wolk CB, Haimes EMB, Jensen-Doss A, Beidas RS.The relationship between anger and anxiety symptoms in youth with anxiety disorders.J Child Adolesc Couns. 2018;4(2):117-133. doi:10.1080/23727810.2017.1381930Nigg JT, Karalunas SL, Gustafsson HC, et al.Evaluating chronic emotional dysregulation and irritability in relation to ADHD and depression genetic risk in children with ADHD.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2020;61(2):205-214. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13132Martino F, Caselli G, Di Tommaso J, et al.Anger and depressive ruminations as predictors of dysregulated behaviours in borderline personality disorder.Clin Psychol Psychother. 2018;25(2):188-194. doi:10.1002/cpp.215Contractor AA, Weiss NH, Dranger P, Ruggero C, Armour C.PTSD’s risky behavior criterion: Relation with DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters and psychopathology.Psychiatry Res. 2017;252:215–222. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.03.008Suppes T, Eberhard J, Lemming O, Young AH, McIntyre RS.Anxiety, irritability, and agitation as indicators of bipolar mania with depressive symptoms: A post hoc analysis of two clinical trials.Int J Bipolar Disord. 2017;5(1):36. doi:10.1186/s40345-017-0103-7American Psychological Association.Understanding anger: How psychologists help with anger problems.Siep N, Tonnaer F, van de Ven V, Arntz A, Raine A, Cima M.Anger provocation increases limbic and decreases medial prefrontal cortex connectivity with the left amygdala in reactive aggressive violent offenders.Brain Imaging Behav. 2019;13(5):1311-1323. doi:10.1007/s11682-018-9945-6Anjanappa S, Govindan R, Munivenkatappa M, Bhaskarapillai B.Effectiveness of anger management program on anger level, problem solving skills, communication skills, and adjustment among school-going adolescents.J Educ Health Promot. 2023;12:90. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_1216_22Mahindru A, Patil P, Agrawal V.Role of physical activity on mental health and well-being: A review.Cureus. 2023;15(1):e33475. doi:10.7759/cureus.33475Levy-Gigi E, Shamay-Tsoory S.Affect labeling: The role of timing and intensity.PLoS One. 2022;17(12):e0279303. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0279303

Šimić G, Tkalčić M, Vukić V, et al.Understanding emotions: Origins and roles of the amygdala.Biomolecules. 2021;11(6):823. doi:10.3390/biom11060823

Gouveia FV, Hamani C, Fonoff ET, et al.Amygdala and hypothalamus: Historical overview with focus on aggression.Neurosurgery. 2019;85(1):11-30. doi:10.1093/neuros/nyy635

Dunlavey CJ.Introduction to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: Healthy and dysregulated stress responses, developmental stress and neurodegeneration.J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. 2018;16(2):R59-R60.

American Psychological Association.Stress effects on the body.

Sell A.The evolutionary psychology of anger. In: Kappelhoff H, Bakels JH, Lehmann H, Schmitt C, eds.Emotionen. J.B. Metzler; 2019:174-179. doi:10.1007/978-3-476-05353-4_25

Oka T. Psychogenic fever:How psychological stress affects body temperature in the clinical population.Temperature (Austin). 2015;2(3):368-378. doi:10.1080/23328940.2015.1056907

Alia-Klein N, Gan G, Gilam G, et al.The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions.Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2020;108:480-497. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002

O’Gorman KM, Wilson MJ, Seidler ZE, et al.Male-type depression mediates the relationship between avoidant coping and suicidal edeation in men.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(17):10874. doi:10.3390/ijerph191710874

Walsh LM, Wolk CB, Haimes EMB, Jensen-Doss A, Beidas RS.The relationship between anger and anxiety symptoms in youth with anxiety disorders.J Child Adolesc Couns. 2018;4(2):117-133. doi:10.1080/23727810.2017.1381930

Nigg JT, Karalunas SL, Gustafsson HC, et al.Evaluating chronic emotional dysregulation and irritability in relation to ADHD and depression genetic risk in children with ADHD.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2020;61(2):205-214. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13132

Martino F, Caselli G, Di Tommaso J, et al.Anger and depressive ruminations as predictors of dysregulated behaviours in borderline personality disorder.Clin Psychol Psychother. 2018;25(2):188-194. doi:10.1002/cpp.215

Contractor AA, Weiss NH, Dranger P, Ruggero C, Armour C.PTSD’s risky behavior criterion: Relation with DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters and psychopathology.Psychiatry Res. 2017;252:215–222. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.03.008

Suppes T, Eberhard J, Lemming O, Young AH, McIntyre RS.Anxiety, irritability, and agitation as indicators of bipolar mania with depressive symptoms: A post hoc analysis of two clinical trials.Int J Bipolar Disord. 2017;5(1):36. doi:10.1186/s40345-017-0103-7

American Psychological Association.Understanding anger: How psychologists help with anger problems.

Siep N, Tonnaer F, van de Ven V, Arntz A, Raine A, Cima M.Anger provocation increases limbic and decreases medial prefrontal cortex connectivity with the left amygdala in reactive aggressive violent offenders.Brain Imaging Behav. 2019;13(5):1311-1323. doi:10.1007/s11682-018-9945-6

Anjanappa S, Govindan R, Munivenkatappa M, Bhaskarapillai B.Effectiveness of anger management program on anger level, problem solving skills, communication skills, and adjustment among school-going adolescents.J Educ Health Promot. 2023;12:90. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_1216_22

Mahindru A, Patil P, Agrawal V.Role of physical activity on mental health and well-being: A review.Cureus. 2023;15(1):e33475. doi:10.7759/cureus.33475

Levy-Gigi E, Shamay-Tsoory S.Affect labeling: The role of timing and intensity.PLoS One. 2022;17(12):e0279303. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0279303

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?

The Amygdala#

The Hypothalamus#

The Prefrontal Cortex#

Brain Chemicals#

Physiological Changes During Anger#

Depression#

Anxiety#

ADHD#

BPD#

PTSD#

Bipolar Disorder#

Long-Term Effects of Anger on the Brain#

Anger Can Rewire Your Brain#

It Can Affect Your Cognitive Abilities and Mental Health#

Anger Hurts Your Health#

Social Side Effects#

Managing Anger: Psychological and Neurological Approaches#

Prevention#

Know the Signs#

Questions to Ask Yourself#

Coping When Anger Strikes#

Long-Term Strategies to Improve Anger Resilience#

Keep in Mind#

Takeaways#