Does Anger Increase Pain?

Does anger increase pain?

It always amazes me that they do studies to prove what (to me) seems obvious. Those of us with the chronic pain of fibromyalgia already know that the stress of negative emotions like anger increases pain.

Anger increases pain.
Stress increases pain.
Anger increases stress, so that’s a double increase on pain.

Related: Symptoms & Signs of Fibromyalgia

Let’s see. When you are angry, you are stressed and you are going to hold your muscles tight, grit your teeth, etc. Tightening your muscles puts your body in an uncomfortable position and that is going to increase pain. It just makes sense.

A 2010 study verified this conclusion and compared the responses of women with fibromyalgia to a group without.

Participants were asked to recall neutral, sad, and angry situations. The effects of these emotions on pain were then measured. Both sadness and anger resulted in higher pain reports and lower pain threshold and tolerance.

Yes, anger increases pain. I really think this might be one reason that forgiveness is so important when we have fibromyalgia. And, also possibly a reason that mindfulness can be so helpful.

So now that we have the obvious out of the way, what do we do about it?

I can tell you what I do to try to deal with anger, stress, and anxiety.

6 Ways to Decrease Anger & Stress

1. Regular exercise

When I’m not getting regular exercise, I feel my stress level increase and my temper gets shorter. I find that regular low-impact exercise like walking or tai chi relaxes me and helps me deal with stress easier.

2. Breathe

When I feel myself getting stressed I try to take some time to breathe deep. Focusing on that breath (think yoga, and if you aren’t familiar pick up a basic yoga dvd), takes my focus off whatever is stressing me.

3. Lay down

It’s really hard to stay angry when you are laying down. Sure you may be anxious, angry and stressed when you first lay down but give it a try.

Open your palms, lay flat on your back for 10 minutes and see if you after 10 minutes you aren’t feeling better.

4. Acupuncture

Seriously. I had no idea there was an acupuncture point for anxiety but one day when I was having a really high anxiety day I asked (really I was only half serious since I didn’t think there was one) and sure enough my chiropractor said there was.

Turns out it’s at the top of your head. After about 5 minutes with the needle in the top of my head I couldn’t even remember what I was anxious about. Now he includes this needle with my regular treatment and I can tell the difference.

5. Walk Away

So many of the fights we get into with those we love are just because both of us are tired and irritable, not because the thing we are fighting over matters. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just walk away.

Ask yourself, what’s more important, being right or being happy?

When you think about how much more damage being angry or upset could be doing to you, you are even more likely to choose being happy.

6. Forgive

Often we hold onto anger from past hurts. I’ve been guilty of this so many times. It’s a struggle to really let go of hurts others have caused us. We relieve them creating more stress.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting what they’ve done, but it does mean letting go of the anger. Remember that forgiveness isn’t really about them, it’s about you.

The fact that anger/ stress/ depression increase pain is a bit of a catch-22 or circular logic. Those things increase pain. But, the fact that we are in pain and can’t do what we want to be doing makes us angry/ stressed and depressed.

I think this may be part of why medicines like Cymbalta work so well for Fibromyalgia even when anxiety or depression don’t seem to be an issue.

While stress and depression may not be an issue initially taking these types of meds may actually head off the likelihood of those issues developing as the pain worsens, thus keeping the pain from increasing.

What do you do to decrease your anger or stress ? Share your tips in the comments below.

Related Posts:

• 7 Things you need to let go of to feel better
• 4 Ways I Reduce Stress & Anxiety
• Resonant Botanicals for Pain Relief & Relaxation
• 6 Steps for Coping with Stress and Reducing Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Source:

van Middendorp, H., Lumley, M. A., Jacobs, J. W., Bijlsma, J. W., & Geenen, R. (2010). The effects of anger and sadness on clinical pain reports and experimentally‐induced pain thresholds in women with and without fibromyalgia. Arthritis care & research, 62(10), 1370-1376.