Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-05-09
HOLD IN YOUR TEMPER.
EVILS WHICH RESULT FROM OUT
BURSTS OF ANGER.

GvlLO Whit hEOOEI FHOIW OOI'
BURSTS OF ANGER.
Effects Upon the System Generally Very
Bad - Most Severe Upon the Heart.
Death Not Infrequently the Consequence
of Anger.
Man, says an old writer, unrestrained by
discipline, or abandoned to the turbulence Of
unbridled passion, is pitiable and degraded
indeed. The fountains of his health and en-
joyment are corrupted and all that's comely
and elevated in his nature is marred and de-
based. His whole life, in short, becomes but
q succession of painful mental and physical
strugglings and connections - a torment
equally to himself and all around him. He who
made this assertion had in mind all the painful
passions, anger, envy, jealousy, ETC., which
humanity is prone to, but he would not have
been far from right had he said the same of
the man quick to anger and of ungovernable
temper, for of all mental peculiarities short
of absolute disease, his is one of the most un-
fortunate, and, i'll truth, as all know, he is
likely ''to be a torment to himself and all
around him." 1t is not the writer's purpose,
however, to discuss the social penalties in
ficted upon the choleric man, but to consider
briefly the bearing which anger has upon his
health, and to point out some of its evils
which are not generally recognized.
''CoNvULsED WITH FURY"
That man can become angry is for him
fortunate provision. Anger is an essential
and component part of his natural system of
defense against all influences which threaten
him. AS has been said: Modified and abused
fi,,J +oJ
our breasts as necessary safeguard alike to
our happiness and existence" But anger, in
dispensable as it is to mans welfare, both
physical and mental must yet be fruitful
source of disease, regret and disgrace unless
kept under control of reason and the will.
Unfortunately, it is not always kept under
wise restraint, nor are all conscious of the
evils which must result when it is ''given
rein.n Allusion is not made to acts of which
an angry man may be guilty, but to its
effects upon himself. Every paroxysln is
mental shock or strain which in some degree
threatens the mental health of him who
experiences it. In every fit of intense anger
there is started a train of disturbances of
mind which extend into the body; and so
both may under certain conditions suffer
serious injury, and perhaps death may re-
suit. A person may, of course, be even ''ter-
ribly angry" many times and yet appear to
be none the worse for such attacks. Quick
and complete recovery is the rule among the
young, whose powers are elastic and will
bear severe strains. Not SO is it, however,
with those who have entered or passed mid
die life; they break, when they would merely
have bent in early life.
''Convulsed with fury" is an expression
which is often used to indicate an extreme
paroxysm of anger, and certainly something
like CONFUSION occurs There is for time
a complete upheaval, every vital power be-
ing shaken. Really, there is not an import
ant part of the system which is not disturbed
in intense anger, and for time life seems to
be at a standstill, and even threatens to go
out The blood, receding from the surface,
surges back to the internal organs, and they
are either overwhelmed or sore depressed.
The heart especially suffers from the shock of
anger, and seems scarcely able to perform it's
function. The breath comes short and quick;
there is a tightness across the chest as though
the lungs were closing; in fact, the whole
vital system is convulsed. This condition of
things generally attends an outburst of violent
anger; then follows reaction, unless, as it
sometimes happens, death occurs; and if it
comes then it is as sudden as stroke of
lightning.
In less intense anger theshock is not nearly
as great; it may be felt only for an instant
and it may be entirely absent, the SO called
stage of excitement beginning with the first
outburst of anger. Doubtless all have many
times seen the effects of this shock; it is on
when the angered one stands paralyzed, as it
were, dumb, or, as often is said, choking
with rage" But, as stated, this stage is
sometimes absent even in intense anger, and
the instant that passion is aroused the stage
of excitement-whichi is reaction from shock
comes, and we have what is often termed
fury, or rage. When this state is entered the
blood turns and rushes like a torrent back to
the surface; the face becomes 'blazing red,"
the lips swollen, the eyes bloodshot and the
skin hot, hence the expression burning with
anger" In this stage the condition of the
system is almost perfect contrast to that Of
shock.
TOUCHING THE HEART.
The vital powers which were nearly over
whelmed have not only renewed their
strength, but have preternatural strength,
so feeble and threatened to stop beating, now
violently hammers at the chest wall Such
sudden changes as these; first to partial
eclipse from shock, and then to wild excite
ment and high fever, if they are extreme,
must shake the entire system, and more than
likely leave for a long time evidence of hav-
ing occurred. Of course, all people who be-
come angry do not suffer like this. 1t does
not seem possible for some ever to become
s'terribly angry" but that class is compare
lively small-the infinite majority can be
goaded to it. Then there are many with
whom anger is sudden and transient, while
there are others who are slower to it, and
they are much slower, also, in getting over
it. 1t is generally the latter who suffer most
from it, for it is quite likely to leave last
ing bitterness, if not positive hatred, against
the one who invoked the attack, and such
feeling, malignant or akin to it, is in itself
preiudicial to mental health.
Generally he who turns pale when angry
is the most intensely so, and he is the one it's
well to give '!wide berth to-" But some
times fear and anger are associated, and then
the victim almost always turns pale He is
not SO formidable, but his own sufferings are
greater than they would be we're anger I'M
mingled with fear.
And so it is clear that, if one expects to live
to good old age, he must learn to govern his
temper, and avoid as much as possible those
influences likely to excite anger. AS for those
who have been generous ivers, and those
who suffer from heart trouble of any sort, let
them live as wisely as they may, and yet, if
they be irritable and prone to give way to
anger, they are, as it were, over a mine
which is liable to explode at any time and
destroy them.-Boston Herald.
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