Antagonism, Anger Management and Heart Disease
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I love the research that goes into writing for EmpowHER almost as much as I love the writing itself. I get to read so many interesting studies about our heart health and almost always learn some little tidbit of information that hopefully will make me (and you as well, Gentle Readers) heart healthier in the long run. But, sometimes, I come across an article that simply makes me laugh and shake my head in disbelief because someone just spent millions of dollars on a study for which the answer is so obvious!
The name of the no-brainer article that caught my eye this week was “Antagonistic People May Increase Heart Attack, Stroke Risk.” My immediate reaction to the title was - “Duh! Like someone really needed to spend millions of dollars and conduct a study to call the pot black!” Perhaps for me, this was obvious because I worked for one of those “antagonistic” people once-upon-a-lifetime-ago. (Then, I discovered life is too short to waste on such unpleasantness but that’s a whole different story in and of itself.) This person (a woman at that, I might add) would rampage about the office when vexed - yelling and screaming (and sometimes crying, complete with the Biblical weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth), kicking desks, throwing papers and files across the room, etc. etc. etc. (You get the picture, don’t you? And yes, she was one of the “bosses” at the firm so the behavior was tolerated.) Her color would begin to flush and turn to a beautiful shade of fuchsia as she became more out of control until finally the veins in her temples and neck would begin to literally bulge out. (She would have done a Marine drill sergeant proud!) Young and aggressive, she was trying to compete and “make it” in a male-dominated industry. Needless to say, her methods of handling the stress often created stress for the rest of us. (For obvious reasons, I no longer work at that firm!)
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
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