Anger: How it Works

Anger: How It Works

Susie’s Father at RU Homes

Susie came to RU homes struggling in life. Her father was an angry man.  He would come each day from a frustrating day at work and take out that frustration on his family.  Her family lived in fear.  He would shout, and scream at her.  When Susie would try to run to another part of the house or to a neighbor’s home, her father would chase her, hit her, and pull her hair.  Several times his anger became violent and Susie and her siblings fled to the nearest police station for safety. 

In addition to her father having an anger problem, her mother dealt with her husband’s anger by being depressed and despondent.  Susie’s mom would spend days in her bedroom sick and sleeping just to get away from her husband.  One day Susie found her mother after she had attempted suicide.  

Susie grew up dealing with the anger and violence out of the one person in life who God has established as His representative in the home, her father.  Is it any wonder that Susie became rebellious towards God and His authority in her life? 

What was going on in her Father’s Brain? 

We will call him Frank.  Frank’s anger was running wild through his cerebral cortex sending signals even deeper into his brain call the hypothalamus. 

Anger activates the hypothalamus which stimulates the sympathetic nervous system.  This restricts the arteries which carry blood to every vital organ in the body.  While this is going on the brain sends a hormonal signal to the adrenal glands to release large quantities of adrenalin, and Corte sol (natural steroid) into the blood system.  As Frank expressed his anger with his family, his muscles tightened, his blood pressure rose, and his heart rate increased.  Frank’s body was prepared to go into action, but no action was normally taken.  

 

Frank’s body was converting the fat to energy that was not used so instead it is turned into cholesterol.  Cholesterol accumulates as deadly plaque on artery walls leading to stroke, heart attack, and even kidney failure. 

Anger and stress are considered a major cause of life threatening illnesses. 

God made man in His own image.

Genesis 1:26-28 (KJV) ²⁶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  

                God made man as a trichotomy. Body, Soul, and Spirit.

Genesis 2:7 (KJV) ⁷ And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Dust of the Ground:        Physical (Body)

Breath of Life:                   Spirit

Living Soul:                        Soul (Mind, Will, Emotions) 

God has made the outer person and the inner person to work together in harmony. 

Ill:           Brain

Brain = This is the organic piece of tissue that is part of our material body.

Mind = This is the immaterial aspect of our being (the soul: the mind, will, and emotions). 

Brain is like the physical aspect of a computer. 

Mind is like the software. 

The Brain is the Central Nervous System: 

·         12 cranial nerves make up the Central Nervous System:  

·         Branching off of the CNS is the peripheral nervous system that has two distinct divisions…

1^st Division:  Somatic Nervous System

Regulates all muscular function. The SNS takes instruction from our will, which is part of our soul.  Remember, we don’t do anything without first thinking it! 

It may be so rapid, you are not aware that a thought occurred.  We have control over these actions.

2^nd Division: Autonomic Nervous System

·         Autonomic:  means to occur involuntarily and spontaneously.

·         The ANS deals with the regulation of our internal body which would include heart rate, digestion, bladder control etc.

·         The ANS works together with our emotions.

·         We do not have control over the ANS just like we don’t have control over our emotions.

·         We cannot will ourselves to like people we have emotional hatred for.

·         We cannot simply tell ourselves to not be angry, because we can’t directly manage our emotions that way.

·         Telling someone not to feel the way they feel only produces guilt or defensiveness.

·         We can manage what we do when we are experiencing negative emotions.

The Soul is in Control

·         That which is causing the ANS to respond a certain way is not the brain.

·         It is not the brain that causes us to feel a certain emotion or as in this study, anger.

·         It is the mind and the way it has been programmed

·         It is NOT the circumstances surrounding us or the people surrounding us that makes us angry.

·         It is our perception of those circumstances and people and how we interpret them that will determine whether we will be angry or not.

Ill:           Two Doctors being Sued.

·         Our bodies respond to stressful situations.

·         Pressure causes our body to produce adrenalin and Corte sol into our blood.

·         If the stress persists too long and the stress becomes distress our system breaks down and we become sick.

1:  Doctor one is an unbeliever.  He and his partner are being sued.  He views it as devastating for business and their referral business. Without referrals his practice is doomed to failure. His dreams are dashed and he responds angrily towards anyone who tries to console him.

2: Doctor two is a believer. He believes that success is an individual following God’s will for their lives.  He believes God is in control and will meet every need. The lawsuit has little impact on his life for he believes God is in this and will work this out for his good and God’s glory.  He is disappointed, but he has little stress and no anger.

What is the difference between the two doctors?             It is their belief system.

Can belief in Jesus Christ make that type of difference in how we look at things and how we act towards our circumstances?                                                 A RESOUNDING YES!!

The difference is not their physical make-up, but their soulical outlook!

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) ⁷ For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Our Behavior is determined by our Beliefs

·         Like all emotions, anger is a product of our thought life.

Ill:           Someone knocks you down at the Post Office.

Someone knocks you down and lands on you without you seeing it coming.  Will your heart rate go up? Will your body release adrenalin and Corte sol into your blood stream?  Will the emotion of anger flare up? 

                Your body will respond in the “fight or flight” mode.

If you believe it was an accident, your mind will tell you it was innocent and your body will return to normal.  We will make a decision how to respond based on the data gathered by our 5 senses and filtered through our minds. (Can you see how what you believe will dictate your action)

·         If what we believe does not conform to the truth, then what we feel does not conform to reality.

Ill:           Marital Spat over Money

·         Husband and wife have discussed the fact that financially things are tight.

·         Husband hears at work from his co-worker that his wife spent a lot of money shopping.

·         Husband is angry. 

·         He confronts his wife only to find it isn’t true.  She didn’t spend any money.

·         The husband was angry because he BELIEVED it to be true, but his emotion was not based on reality.

Conclusion:

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV) ¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

                1.  We are made in the image of God.  A trichotomy.  A spirit, soul, and body.

                2.  The brain is the hardware, the mind is the software.  God made man for the soul and body to work in harmony.

                3.  The soul is in control.

                4.  Our behavior is determined by our beliefs.