So, you’re royally ticked off!
Which is healthier for your heart: To suppress your feelings, or let ‘em rip? It’s a trick question – neither of those options is good for your heart.
If you lay into someone, scream and let your anger out, it raises your risk of a heart attack or stroke for the next 2 hours.
But suppressing anger isn’t a good way to go either. Over time, keeping your feelings bottled up can wear your body down, leading to high blood pressure, depression and heart disease.
So what should you do when you’re majorly mad? Take a “time out” to manage your anger. Take at least 10 slow, deep breaths to reduce your stress hormones, heart rate and blood pressure. Psychiatry professor Dr. Charles Raison from the University of Arizona says that’s enough to offset the adrenaline response, so you can share your negative feelings without blowing up at someone or doing your own body any harm.