Did you know that every feeling you have affects some part of your body? While positive emotions such as gratitude have been scientifically linked to a number of beneficial health effects, negative emotions and stress can wreak havoc — especially if you’re not exercising or eating right, as both of these can ease pessimism and help keep stress in check. 

It’s interesting to note that certain emotions are known to be associated with pain in certain regions of your body, even though science cannot explain exactly why this is. For example, those suffering from depression will often experience chest pains, even when there’s nothing physically wrong with their heart. Extreme grief can also have a devastating impact, and research confirms that in the days following the loss of a loved one, your risk of suffering a heart attack increases by 21 times.

While the exact mechanics of these mind-body links are still being unraveled, what is known is that your brain, and consequently your thoughts and emotions, play a distinct role in your experience of physical pain, and can contribute to the development of chronic disease. As a result of these kinds of findings, there’s been an upwelling of mind-body therapies that take this interrelatedness between your emotions and physical health into account.¹

The Science of Anger

The featured video reveals the biochemical cascade that occurs during a bout of anger. In the example given, someone cuts you off in traffic, and in response you get angry. When that happens, stress chemicals associated with the fight-or-flight response are released, preparing your body for quick action.

The stress response begins in your brain. When your eyes or ears register a sudden threat (the car encroaching into your lane), information is sent to the amygdala, a brain area that interprets images and sounds and is involved in the processing of emotions.

Interpreting the sights and sounds as an impending threat, your amygdala sends a distress signal to your hypothalamus, which can be likened to a central command center for your entire body. It communicates with various body parts and organs via the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for involuntary bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, dilation and constriction of blood vessels and so on.

Your autonomic nervous system has two “branches” — the sympathetic nervous system, which triggers the fight-or-flight response, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes the “rest and digest” response that calms your body back down once you’re no longer in danger. As the amygdala sends its distress signal, your hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system, triggering your adrenal glands to release adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine).

The sudden release of stress chemicals cause your heart rate and blood pressure to increase, which in turn makes you breathe more rapidly. It also releases glucose and fats from storage sites in your body, thereby giving your body a quick boost of energy. Blood is also flushed toward your extremities, including your face. This is why anger can literally make you turn red. This chain of events occurs so quickly, it’s already in full swing before your brain’s visual center has fully processed what’s happening on the road.

The Importance of Your Prefrontal Cortex

To maintain or regain emotional control at this point, you need to engage your prefrontal cortex — the area of your brain that controls executive functions, including complex cognitive and social behavior, personality expression, willpower, decision making and judgment. Without the engagement of your prefrontal cortex, you’re incapable of self-constraint and logical thought processing.

As noted in a 2015 study looking at how subliminal anger messages affect your decision-making skills, “The behavioral and physiological impact of anger states compromises the efficiency of cognitive processing through action-ready changes in autonomic response that skew regional neural activity.” While the featured video does not go into how you might go about activating your prefrontal cortex, scientifically proven ways to strengthen this brain region and improve your self-control include:²

Eating a healthy diet with high-quality fats

Getting enough quality sleep (most adults need seven to nine hours a night)

Getting regular physical exercise. When it comes to strengthening your prefrontal cortex, both relaxing exercises like Tai Chi or yoga and intense workouts will provide ample benefits

Managing your daily stress. Your prefrontal cortex starts to lose the battle when chronically flooded with stress chemicals. By not allowing stress to turn chronic, you’ll be far better able to maintain self-control during challenging situations. Brief daily meditation has been shown to increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex in as little as eight weeks, thereby improving stress management and self-awareness

When anger strikes: Stop, and take a few deep breaths to reoxygenate your brain before responding