Recent research from Harvard found that in the two hours following an angry outburst, a person's risk for a heart attack shot up nearly five times and their risk of stroke was increased more than three times. Risk for arrhythmia was also increased. Researchers say that there are several mechanisms that link extreme emotion to cardiovascular catastrophe; psychological stress increases the heart rate, blood pressure, and vascular resistance. “Changes in blood flow can cause blood clots and may stimulate inflammatory responses,” notes the Harvard study.
 
So what to do? Get a handle on it, calm down, take a chill pill, loosen up, get over it, just relax. If only it were that easy — and we know it's not. Yet there are tools and tips to help you tame the peevish beast. So next time your feel your blood starting to boil, consider trying some of the following.
 
1. Know the danger
It’s hard to deny it, sometimes getting really riled just feels good … in a bad way, maybe, but still. So keeping in mind the deleterious effects that fury can incite may be one of the best tools at your disposal. Just remember, no matter how angry you may feel, the risk of heart attack or stroke is increased with each outburst you let get out of hand. Anger may feel good, but an untimely death? Not so much.
 
2. Identify the triggers
Many people are surprised when they first recognize consistent patterns in the things which push their buttons. If you know that, for instance, you get extra vexed when you’re tired, then you can try to avoid potentially volatile situations in the evening. Although keeping an anger journal may sound like a pastime for pessimists, it can help you identify the triggers; once you better understand the triggers, you can strategize ways to either avoid them or to work around them.
 
3. Take a time out
Once anger gets a hold, it has the knack for spiraling into something altogether more monstrous than what it started out as. At the first flutter of frustration, step away from the situation and slowly count to 10 … or better yet, 100. Slowing down can help defuse the anger and can give you the edge you need to control it.
 
4. Breathe deeply
Don’t forget to breathe! Deep breathing ­– also known as diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, or belly breathing – is the practice of breathing deeply and powerfully, you know you’re breathing deeply when your lower belly rises upon inhalation. The Harvard Medical School calls deep breathing one of the body’s strongest self-healing mechanisms, saying that, “deep abdominal breathing encourages full oxygen exchange — that is, the beneficial trade of incoming oxygen for outgoing carbon dioxide. Not surprisingly, this type of breathing slows the heartbeat and can lower or stabilize blood pressure.” Take that, anger.
 
5. Find a mantra
In the same vein as counting to 10, finding a good word or phrase to repeat is also a good tactic to tackle the temper. Take a few of them out for a test drive; you’ll know the right mantra when you find it. Some people go with a simple, “relax,” while others may prefer a yoga chant, a silly word, or an affirming phrase like, “this too shall pass.”