Guidelines for Men's Health: Emotional Management and Mental Health Regulation

Anger is Harmful to Health

Doctors say that if you don't know how to manage anger, it can become a very harmful emotion. They warn that hostile anger can lead to heart disease, back problems, headaches, emotional instability, and even cancer.

Anger is a normal emotion that we often experience. Some people express anger openly in a calm and rational way, while others fly into a rage and shout. However, some people suppress their anger; they cannot or are unwilling to vent it. We call this suppressed anger.

For many years, many doctors have believed that suppressing anger is more harmful to people's health than venting it. They say that when a person is angry, the brain releases hormones produced under stress and tension. These hormones are adrenaline and neoadrenaline. They accelerate heart rate, raise blood pressure, or increase blood sugar, and constrict blood vessels leading to the intestines.

Some doctors believe that suppressing or venting anger and hostility can be dangerous. Those who are violently angry may be more prone to heart disease, while those who remain silent in anger may face a greater risk of high blood pressure. The solution is to learn how to deal with anger. The first step is to acknowledge that you are angry and identify the true cause of your anger, then determine if that cause is serious enough to trigger your anger. If so, do not vent your anger while you are angry. Wait until your anger subsides before calmly and rationally expressing your opinions.

Doctors believe that a good way to deal with anger is to find humor in the situation that has angered you. Laughter is far more beneficial to health than anger.

How to Overcome Depression

People inevitably experience setbacks and losses in life. A person around 60 years old develops heart disease, forcing them to change their lifestyle, thus losing some of the choices they previously had. The unfortunate death of children or grandchildren deprives parents and grandparents of the joys of family life. The loss of a spouse or divorce can cause grief and depression for anyone. For the elderly, setbacks in their children's and grandchildren's careers and relationships, family conflicts, a lack of understanding and respect from younger generations, the rejection or criticism of their life's work, or the overturning of their academic achievements can all lead to feelings of grief and depression. Unfortunately, few studies have been conducted on how to quickly overcome grief.

Grief is not a mental illness, but sometimes it feels that way. Insomnia, anxiety, fear, anger, excessive suspicion, and a tendency to think negatively can combine to create a feeling of "going crazy." In reality, these are all part of the grief process and normal psychological reactions.

In the early stages of grief, a person is often alternating between calm and sorrow, still in disbelief or bewilderment at the misfortune. They then gradually enter a depressive phase, remaining depressed and downcast for months. Anything can trigger memories of their tragic experience. To alleviate grief, it's important to express it. Each person can do so in their own way, which they find most appropriate. The following methods can help:

Talk to a close friend. For most people, talking to a trusted friend is an effective way to release emotions and heal trauma. Even if you don't want to confide in someone and prefer to suffer alone, you can still find comfort in a friendly conversation. You must understand that being alone will only make you feel worse.

Put yourself into work. Work has immense therapeutic value. If you work, you must be responsible to others, which will help you discover your inner strength. Even for retired seniors, being active and engaging in suitable hobbies, finding joy and fulfillment in them, is a good way to alleviate grief and overcome depression.

Distract yourself. If you are retired and at home, creating a daily routine and striving to adhere to it will be beneficial.

In addition, laughter can help others, turn grief into strength, and go to places that bring you joy and help you escape sadness, thus overcoming depression and embracing happiness.

What are the benefits of laughter?

Life cannot exist without laughter, and people cannot exist without smiles.

According to relevant articles, laughter has nine benefits:

① Increases lung capacity;

② Cleanses the respiratory tract;

③ Expresses healthy emotions;

④ Relaxes muscles;

⑤ Helps release excess energy;

⑥ Helps overcome shyness, melancholy, and worries;

⑦ Eliminates mental tension;

⑧ Facilitates communication and friendship;

⑨ Fades memories of past misfortunes and fosters a hope for the future.

Why does laughter have such a powerful effect? ​​Scientists believe that laughter stimulates highly beneficial activity in all the muscles of the body. It strengthens heart function and accelerates blood circulation, providing a beneficial internal massage effect to internal organs such as the heart, lungs, arms, and intestines, thus promoting appetite. Furthermore, it regulates the function of the autonomic nervous and endocrine systems, accelerating blood circulation to internal organs, opening capillaries, and ensuring an adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients.

Excessive laughter, however, can have adverse effects on the body.

It has been proven that excessive laughter is not beneficial. Laughter is especially unsuitable for people with the following conditions:

① High blood pressure patients may experience a relapse of their condition due to excessive laughter.

② Laughter during the recovery period from cerebral hemorrhage may cause a relapse of the condition.

③ Laughter in patients with coronary heart disease can worsen myocardial ischemia, leading to heart failure, and even causing cardiac rupture and death (arteriosclerosis and myocardial infarction can also have the same result).

④ Laughter shortly after thoracic or cardiac surgery can affect wound healing and exacerbate pain.

⑤ Laughter in patients with hernias can increase abdominal pressure and enlarge the hernia sac.

⑥ Laughter in pregnant women can increase abdominal pressure, easily causing miscarriage and premature birth.

⑦ Laughter while eating can easily cause food to enter the trachea, resulting in tracheal foreign body (especially common in children), which can be life-threatening if not treated promptly.

⑧ Laughter after a full meal can induce appendicitis or intestinal volvulus. Therefore, laughter should be moderate to prevent "extreme joy from turning into tragedy."