Buddhas’ incorporation association
essay writing
The relationship between anger and disease
Instructor: Huaigu WANG
Bhikkhuni: Yinyi SHI
Date Finished: June 20, 2024
Abstract
Anger is a common psychological characteristic of human beings. Especially in this era of information explosion or rapid information development, people’s emotions fluctuate greatly.In recent years, more and more studies have shown that there is a close relationship between emotions and diseases.This paper will focus on the relationship between the negative emotion of anger and diseases. Anger is a strong emotion of hatred and hostility. When a person is under the anger, His body will produce a toxin and cause physical problems easily. Studies have shown that anger is related to the incidence of many common diseases, such as hypertension, heart disease, depression, etc., and is one of the main causes of various diseases.
Key words: Anger, Disease, Toxin, Main Cause
Chapter One Introduction
In today’s fast-paced life, diseases have become a significant issue that people are confronted with. In recent years, the fields of psychology, medicine, and psychosomatic health research have gradually focused on the correlation between emotions and health. Anger, as a negative emotion, is widespread in people’s daily lives. It not only affects an individual’s psychological state but also may have negative impacts on physical health. Then, from the perspective of Buddhism, anger is a fundamental affliction. Exploring the relationship between anger and diseases from the Buddhist perspective helps people recognize the harm of negative emotions to health and thereby search for solutions. This research will, through the collection of literature and the study of Buddhist scriptures, discuss the influence mechanism of anger on physical and mental health and the possible diseases it may bring. Simultaneously, through case analyses and practical discussions, it reminds everyone to be fearful of the arising of anger, effectively control the emotion of anger, and thereby promote personal health and happiness. This thesis is divided into four major chapters: the first chapter is the introduction; the second chapter is the definitions of anger and diseases; the third chapter is the relationship between anger and diseases; the fourth chapter is the conclusion, which serves as a summary of this thesis.
Chapter Two Definitions of Anger and Disease
Section 1 The Definition of Anger
What is anger? The Sutra of the contemplating of the Proper Dharma said, ‘What is anger? It is called anger because its mind is evil.’ If the mind is evil, it can be called anger.
In Volume 5 of the Sutra and Commentary Asked by Bodhisattva Maitreya, it is written, ‘Anger is when one has a vicious mind toward other sentient beings, wishing to harm them, etc., and when the mind of great compassion is at odds with this, it is called anger.’ To have evil thoughts toward other sentient beings and to wish to harm them is contrary to the great compassionate mind, and is therefore called anger.
Section 2 Definition of Disease
What is a disease? Disease is the general name of the disease. Disease is in a certain etiology, the body’s internal homeostatic disorder caused by abnormal life activities. In the process of disease, the body, mental and social adaptation on the intact state is destroyed, the body into the internal environmental stability imbalance, is not compatible with the environment or social state.
In modern concepts, “disease” is a deviation from the normal form and function of the human body, and is the opposite of “health”. So, what is disease in Buddhism? How is it defined in the Maha Sangha, Volume 38: ‘ What is sickness? “Old age, lethargy, cold food, vomiting and unhappiness.” If the body is in any of these states, it is sick.’
In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Volume 11 (19 Sacred Acts,), it is said, ‘What is sickness? Sickness means that the four great vipers are not in tune with each other, and there are two kinds of sickness: one is sickness of the body, and the other is sickness of the mind.’ From this, we can see that sickness is the lack of adjustment among the four great vipers of earth, water, fire, and wind, and that there are two kinds of sickness: physical sickness and mental sickness.
Chapter Three The Relationship Between Anger and Disease
From the above, we have already understood the definition of anger and disease, then, what is the relationship between them? Then the author discusses the relationship between anger and disease from the perspective of medicine, psychology, and Buddhism.
Section 1: Anger Causes Physical Disease
Anger is a kind of intense emotion, when we feel angry, irritated or dissatisfied, our body will produce a series of physiological changes. For example, when a person in a state of anger loses his temper, his face will immediately turn blue, red and white. When anger arises, the body will produce harmful toxins, so as soon as one loses his temper the physiology will immediately produce a negative reaction, which is a disease, only the general public is not aware of it. So, what are the common illnesses that anger can cause?
I. Breast Hyperplasia
In addition to pigmentation, women are also prone to breast cancer. Breast cancer ranks first in the incidence of female cancers. Clinically, the first stage of breast cancer is a breast nodule, which is a hard lump. If the lump is left untreated, it will grow bigger and bigger, and then it will become cancerous. People with depressed personalities are prone to this disease. Many women suffer from breast pain and breast enlargement, many of which are related to love of anger; post-partum moody, easy to occur mastitis; middle-aged and elderly people are more likely to trigger breast cancer.
II. Cardiovascular diseases
The mind and body are closely related. When a person is in the mood of anger and rage for a long time, the body will continue to release stress hormones, such as adrenaline and corticosteroids. Under continuous stress, these hormones will accelerate the heart rate, raise blood pressure and accelerate the breakdown of blood sugar, such a physical reaction may lead to overloading of the heart in the long term, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. For example, some studies have found that people who often feel angry and rage are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, and that the degree and duration of anger are associated with heart attacks in heart disease patients. People with cardiovascular diseases are most afraid of anger, which will immediately cause tachycardia, shortness of breath, fluctuation of blood pressure, and in serious cases, may cause stroke. The author has met a patient with high blood pressure. Due to the pressure from work and family, he is often angry, easily frustrated. He often lost his temper with his neighbors, colleagues, relatives and family members, and could not control his emotions even in public. Over time, he began to experience symptoms of hypertension: headaches, dizziness, chest tightness, palpitations, etc. He went to the hospital for a checkup. After that the doctor told him that his blood pressure was already high and that he needed timely treatment and lifestyle changes to control his blood pressure, or else it would lead to a lot of sequelae. The doctor also pointed out that excessive anger, worry and agitation could be a major cause of his high blood pressure, and advised him to learn to control his emotions and avoid excessive anxiety and stress.
Anger is also prone to heart disease, because once a person is angry, the sympathetic nerves are too excited for a long time and highly nervous, which will lead to excessive burden on the heart, accelerated heart rate, and even produce arrhythmia. In the long run, the heart will be damaged, resulting in the occurrence of accidental cardiac events. For example, there is a patient with heart disease, this person is also angrily strong, angry, come or go on the fire. She often scolded her colleagues at work and once yelled at them in the office, and was once sent to the hospital because of her emotional turmoil. A checkup at the hospital revealed that she was suffering from myocardial ischemia, a condition caused by a lack of oxygen to the heart. The doctor asked her if she had any special lifestyle habits, she said that she had been suffering from insomnia lately, and that her mood was very unstable and often out of control. After the doctor’s questioning and examination, it was found that she suffered from severe hypertension, high blood viscosity and tightness of blood vessels, which led to poor blood circulation, thus triggering myocardial ischemia. Doctors pointed out that emotional fluctuations will lead to sympathetic nervous excitement, triggering the body’s secretion of hormones such as epinephrine and cortisol, which in the long term will lead to higher blood pressure and increased blood lipids, thus increasing the risk of heart disease.
In addition, on November 20, 1996, a personal health column in the New York Times reported that “Learning to control anger is the best medicine for your heart.”Each episode of anger or hostility triggers a cascade of physiological responses in the body, such as increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, constriction of the coronary arteries, and thickening of the blood. In the case of heart disease, such reactions can reduce the return of blood to the heart and cause a lack of oxygen to the heart muscle. If the blood clots block the coronary arteries or the lack of oxygen causes the heart to beat irregularly, a heart attack can result.
III. Diabetes
It is well known that anxiety, anger, rage, anxiety and irritability can increase blood sugar, which are important factors leading to diabetes. If left unchecked, diabetes can easily develop in the long run. I have heard people talk about some of the usual state of diabetic patients, indeed, the kind of hot temper, easy to anger.
IV. Liver disease
In “Huang Di Nei Jing”, it is written that “Anger hurts the liver, joy hurts the heart, anxiety hurts the lungs, thoughts hurt the spleen, and fear hurts the kidney”. From the physiological and psychological point of view, every kind of emotion can hit our vital organs, and even lead to a serious impairment of their functions. For example, anger harms the liver: anger leads to anger, which in turn harms the liver and leads to boredom, irritability, dizziness, etc. According to Chinese medicine, the liver is the officer of the general, and it likes to be smooth and open. If long-term depression and anger, can lead to liver stagnation, causing physiological disorders. Modern medical research shows that anger will make people shortness of breath, the number of red blood cells in the blood increased dramatically, the blood than under normal circumstances, accelerated coagulation, tachycardia, which will not only damage the cardiovascular system, but also affect the liver health. Survey results show that people who are irritable are 8 times more likely to suffer from liver disease than the general public. A cousin of the author is a typical example, the spleen has been bad, good and people fight, long time in angrily under the state, resulting in he suffered from liver disease, fifty years old passed away.
V. Gastric ulcer, gastritis, cancer
According to statistics, there are more than 200 kinds of diseases related to emotions, and more than 70% of all the sick people are related to emotions. Fear, anxiety, guilt, depression, anger, frustration …… There is a map of emotions in every human body. at the time of being angry will cause sympathetic nervous excitement, direct effect on the heart and blood vessels, gastrointestinal blood flow is reduced, peristalsis slowed down, poor appetite, and in severe cases will cause gastric ulcers, gastritis and other diseases. Research has pointed out that more than 70% of people will suffer from emotional attacks on the body organs, cancer and long-term resentment related.
In addition, psychological studies have found that the stress hormone produced by a person’s body when he or she is angry is enough to kill a mouse. This “stress hormone” is also called “toxic hormone”. This toxin is extremely harmful to the human body.
In the Sutra on Buddhist Medicine, it is written, ‘There are ten causes of sickness: first, sedentary behavior; second, lack of food; third, sorrow; fourth, fatigue; fifth, licentiousness; sixth, anger and rage; seventh, endurance of defecation; eighth, endurance of urination; ninth, control of the upper winds; and tenth, control of the lower winds. It is from these ten causes that one gets sick.’ This shows that anger is one of the causes of sickness.
Section 2: Anger-induced Mental Illness
Anger is a kind of negative emotion. If maintained for a long time, it will affect mental health and lead to a series of mental illnesses, including:
I. Depression
Long-term anger and hatred might result in persistent depressive emotions and eventually evolve into depression. For example, when a person feels betrayed or hurt by someone close, they start to have a strong emotion of anger and hatred. This resentment keeps accumulating, causing him to start doubting his own value or adopt a hostile attitude towards the people around them, and subsequently become estranged from relatives and friends. As time goes by, this person may have persistent depressive emotions, lose interest and motivation in life, and be unable to engage in social activities and work. Symptoms such as decreased sleep quality, changed appetite, and intensified mood swings may appear one after another, eventually leading to the onset of depression.
II. Anxiety Disorders
When the emotion of anger and hatred accumulates continuously, it may cause the intensification and onset of anxiety. For example, when a strong emotion of anger and hatred is aroused by a certain event or relationship, but one unable to effectively let go or deal with it, gradually entering an anxious state. One might repeatedly recall the event that triggered the emotion of anger and hatred, worry about being hurt or betrayed again, and begin to feel that the control over the surrounding things is constantly being lost.
III. Appetite disorders
When people are emotionally frustrated, they may develop unhealthy eating habits such as overeating or dieting, which may lead to appetite disorders. Anger can lead to appetite disorders under certain circumstances. For example, a person who has been hurt or betrayed by someone for a long time has strong anger, but cannot effectively release or deal with this emotion. This person often turns the anger into a desire for control over his or her body, trying to gain a false sense of control by controlling what he or she eats. The person may experience symptoms of appetite disorders, either overeating or restrictive eating, leading to the onset of an eating disorder. If he chooses to overeat to get rid of his anger, he may develop symptoms of bulimia, such as chronic overeating and an inability to control his eating behavior.
In addition, from the Buddhist point of view, anger itself is a kind of vexed mind disease, which is called the disease of anger. In Volume 12 of the Tripitaka Dharma Numbers, it is stated as follows: ‘The second disease of anger. It is the mind of anger and rage. The mind of angriness. It is the angular mind that is passionately annoyed by all the offending situations. This is the disease of anger.’ The Mahaprajña Paramita Sutra, Volume 331 (51) says, ‘There are four diseases of the mind: First, the disease of covetousness. The second is the disease of anger. The third is dementia. The fourth is the disease of all the vexations, such as slowness.’ From these two paragraphs, it is clear that anger itself is a disease, a disease of the vexed mind.
To summarize, anger will trigger a series of physical and mental illnesses, and it is one of the main causes of disease. Therefore, we should pay attention to the problem of anger in order to have a healthy body and mind.
Chapter Four Conclusions
In this paper, through the exploration of various physical and mental diseases resulting from anger, it was found that the two are closely related. Eventually, the conclusion that “anger is one of the main causes of diseases” was drawn. I sincerely hope that through the discussion of the relationship between anger and diseases in this article, those who have the opportunity can manage their anger well and avoid the torment of various illnesses. There are many deficiencies and imprecisions in the writing of this article. I respectfully hope for your understanding and kind instructions.
References
Ancient Books
(in chronological order)
1. [Wu] Zhuruyan and Zhiyue: The Buddhist Sutra on Buddhist Medicine, Taishō Tripiṭaka, Vol. 17.
2. [Eastern Jin] Dharmaksema: The Great Nirvana Sutra, Volume 11, Taishō Tripiṭaka, Vol.12.
3. [Eastern Jin] Buddhavatara, Fa Hin,The Mahasamadhi Sutra, Volume 38, Taishō Tripiṭaka, vol. 22.
4. [Northern Wei]Gautama Prajñāruci, the Sutra on the Nembutsu of the True Dharma, Volume 33, Taishō Tripiṭaka, vol. 17.
5. [Northern Wei] Bodhidharma Liuji,Maitreya Bodhisattva’s Sutra of Questions, Volume 5, Taishō Tripiṭaka, vol. 26.
6. [Tang] Xuanzang, “Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra,” Volume 331, Taishō Tripiṭaka, vol. 6, pp. 695ff.
7. [Qing] Ding Fubao recalibrated: “The Three Tibetan Dharma Numbers,” Volume 12, Taishō Tripiṭaka, Supplementary Vol.22, pp. 223 ff.
Other Notes:
1, Anger Hurts the Liver http://www.360doc.com/content/17/0616/03/41245772_663666377.shtml
2, “70% of diseases are related to emotions, how to be the master of emotions” https://www.fjdh.cn/wumin/2016/11/085701348800.html