How Anger Can Lead To Anxiety, Panic, and Depression, and How To Stop It From Happening
So all day today I’ve been waiting in for a new fridge to be delivered. I was given a delivery time of between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. (why do these delivery companies always give such big windows of time? My agoraphobia used to keep me stuck in the house, and now these delivery companies do!).
Anyway, I start waiting this morning just before 8, hoping the fridge will come soon so my whole morning isn’t lost (I normally walk my dog Millie as soon as I get up, but today I couldn’t).
A couple of hours pass, no delivery. My frustration increases.
Another couple of hours pass, and now it’s gone 12 p.m. and the time they told me it would be delivered has come and gone. So I call the delivery company, only to be told that there is no scheduled delivery to my address today, or any other day.
So I’ve been waiting for 4 hours for something that was never even on its way to me. Now the frustration is getting worse.
After about 10 minutes of hassling them on the phone, they finally agree to get the fridge sent out to me today. Sometime before 5 p.m. they say. Great. Another long wait for ne.
So all afternoon I’ve been watching the clock tick away. I can’t go out and walk my dog (or do anything else, for that matter) and I can’t even go out into the back yard in case I miss the delivery truck. All I can do is watch the clock.
You guessed it - 5 o’clock came and went, and no delivery.
I call them again and now there’s no answer because they’ve all gone home. I felt like I was gonna go nuts with anger!
So, you might be wondering why I’m telling you this long, boring story about a fridge delivery? (You’re right, by the way. It’s boring, I know. But I’m about to tell you why I’ve made you sit through it.)
All day my frustration has been growing. And by the time I’d realised I’d waited in all day for nothing, my frustration turned into genuine anger. And the moment I realised how angry I was it reminded me of something I read a few weeks ago.
I’d read a report on how damaging anger is to the human body.
There are very few things worse for your body than anger. Most people think that stress is the single biggest cause of heart attacks (sorry to get so grim on you), but anger is actually a bigger risk-factor than stress. It also causes a huge chunk of the anxiety and panic we experience. And that’s the part that I remembered from that report I’d read.
Once I’d been reminded of how damaging anger is for your health, and for your anxiety, it was suddenly very obvious to be that my general anxiety was much higher than it normally is these days.
For most people, this isn’t really a problem. In fact, I’m sure it’s completely normal to have periods of every day where your anxiety increases slightly. But for people with anxiety problems, or even for people like me who once had anxiety problems, I think we need to take extra care not to expose ourselves to any unnecessary anger, stress, or any negativity, period.
Why take the chance?
All day I’d been stewing, sitting around waiting in, being messed around by the delivery company, only to find out that it was all for nothing. My anger in that time had crept up on me, so slowly I almost didn’t notice that it was there.
It was a good reminder for me, and it’s one I’ll make good use of. I won’t let anger creep up on me again. I hope you won’t either.
And if ever you do notice that anger or stress has gotten the better of you, immediately do something about it - don’t let it sit in you, growing into something harmful. Today, as soon as I realised the delivery wasn’t being made, I took my dog on an hour-long walk, which is one of my best de-stressors!
And another thing I did was sit here and write this blog post.
Venting your anger, getting it out of your system, is a great way to lessen its impact on you. So if you keep a journal or a blog, make use of it when you’re experiencing any stress, or anger, or depression. Getting it out is one of the best ways to get rid of it.
Comments
2 Comments on How Anger Can Lead To Anxiety, Panic, and Depression, and How To Stop It From Happening
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Cat on
Mon, 9th Mar 2009 5:35 pm
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Oph on
Tue, 24th Mar 2009 11:47 pm
I’m so glad I ’stumbled’ across your website. I too have read so much and searched for understanding and solutions to fear and anxiety. Fear manifests in so many ways and treating anxiety/depression/an eating disorder can temporarily relieve the fear, however, what your ideas do is recognise that the root of al those presentations might be fear itself. It is always helpful to hear personal and alternative ideas about anxiety…I look forward to learning more from your website.
Thanks for this site - I’m sure that many people are benefiting from it. Your honest sharing of your experiences is really inspiring. I’m sure there are many others enjoying your writing without necessarily leaving their comments! Thanks again.
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