Understanding Anger and the liver

Understanding Anger and Its Impact on Hepatitis C and Liver Health

The Liver’s Role in Emotion Regulation:

The liver is responsible for part of the digestion of food, detoxifying the body, including metabolising stress hormones like cortisol, which can exacerbate feelings of anger if not properly regulated. Traditional Chinese Medicine associates anger with the liver, suggesting that an imbalance in liver function can manifest as increased irritability and anger. In the same way that the role of the liver is to assimilate food and break it down, it also assimilates our emotional experiences.

Dealing with a liver with hepatitis C

Which came first: anger of a bad liver?

This is like the hen or the egg question. Anger being part of life as a human being we have to admit that anger is a natural emotion that everyone has when the situation makes it arise. When the liver is affected, anger is prone to rise more often. Keeping a check on it, making an effort, being aware of the potential chronic irritation will help. Noticing it is the first step. This will help the liver regulate and appease its inner fire, like breaking the cycle of anger. Just noticing, without judgement, coming back to a healthy, deep breath will alleviate our emotional state. I use it as much as I can, it is subtle and effective and gets easier the more I do it.

Living with Hepatitis C and your liver

In my twenties, having contracted hep c, I reflect back on these times and it is clear that I was angry and I wasn’t conscious of it. I would be angry about something for days even weeks. When I made a conscious decision to change my life I became aware of my anger. The first thing was the sadness that arose from beneath the anger. Hidden for years it now came out to the front and with it depression.

I read a lot about emotional regulation, researched it and even joined an anger management men’s group. I was a passive angry man: I kept it in and my anger came out in all sorts of ways, all over the place. We were 25 to 20 angry men in a room, sitting in a circle, talking about our lives. At one point I got given a baseball bat and I hit a punching bag on the floor repeatedly, shouting at the same time. It released me from an internal hold. This was appropriate for me because of my passive anger: it was never really expressed outwardly but kept inside. I wasn’t alowed to express anger as a kid, only my dad. So this was cathartic for me. This is not the right thing to do for any angry man.

The art is not to wallow in it, it simply keeps you in that state but to become aware, aware partly of the style of anger you have and of the skills you have to cope or handle it.

Anger is a fire: it can build or destroy. Kept in, you burn on the inside, brought out it can easily be destructive to others, yourself or the environment around you (breaking things, ending relationships…). This is when skills and awareness around anger becomes important. Training the mind about what to do with this wild energy.

Anger as a sign

Anger is a sign: it can simply be a boundary has been crossed. That’s an healthy anger to have, normal. When strong anger arises out of a small thing then it probably is be about something else. The liver not functioning well because it is affected by hepatitis C will do that. Unrealistic anger. Out of proportion anger. So healing the liver becomes part of the process of dealing with the anger. In the same way regulating our anger will help the liver, they are both in the same circle.

Learning some skills to deal with anger

I learned some skills, using my mind around what to do with my anger. Like I already said, not to wallow in it but also to honour it: it is a balancing act that is easier said than done. It is not going to happen overnight. Slowly our awareness develops. I did an assertiveness course which helped me with setting boundaries, an important component of healthy anger. I learned to honour my sadness that came out, hidden behind my anger. I sat with my anger without running away from it. I learned some counselling skills with an introductory course. Again this helped me with honouring other peoples feelings and emotions without been caught up in it. Whenever someone got angry with me I used to be angry back, that was my default. By using my mind and creating a boundary, I learned that the other person’s anger may have nothing to do with me.

Dropping the blame game

So getting some skills, one at the time, understanding the role of emotions helped me greatly and boundaries was a big one in that and setting those boundaries within relationships. I also had to drop the blame game. Observing myself (meditation was great for that), I could see my internal processes at play: I would blame something in my head about a situation instead of taking charge. Taking responsibility for what I was feelings, I had to learn to do. My ability to respond to situation in a healthy way I developed.

What is your anger style

I had a style of walking away from argument, finding them unbearable. So I learn to come back and face the argument and my own boundary setting in that relationship. Now, I see my walking away not as a cope out but as a temporary need for space to regroup myself so that I can come back to the argument without being overwhelmed.

I know of some people that get angry quickly but then they are also able to let go of it just as quickly. I am somehow jealous of those people because my anger style is a slow burn on the inside which eventually becomes volcanic. So knowing your anger style is helpful to learn to deal with it.

Coping with anger: anger management strategies

Here is a list of possible coping ways to deal with our anger. It is by all mean not exhaustive:

• Screaming in a cushion
• Shouting in your car
• Have an anger pal: you call each other when you need to express all your frustrations, they listen to you and don’t say anything back. Then hang up.
• Writing a letter to the person – and not giving it to them – then burn it.
• Talk to the person as if they were there
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle with enough physical movement in it – avoid much stagnancy – find what rocks your boat: yoga, running, the gym, sports, tai chi , long walks etc…
• Learning assertiveness skills
• When it is appropriate and it often isn’t (ie: your boss…), talk to the person directly – it isn’t easy to do it while keeping healthy boundaries but not impossible
• When holding too much anger, let it out by hitting a punching bag on the floor with a baseball bat (this is for excessive amount of anger held in for years through passive anger style)
• Easy on the alcohol. We all know of the alcoholic in a constant state of anger
• Therapy – there are various options – a lot will depend on the therapist style. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a good short term one. If a therapist of any kind doesn’t guide you to learn new ways with your anger or let you wallow in it then move one.

Managing anger is essential when we have Hepatitis C because it impacts liver health. And also liver health impacts our emotional state. By adopting healthy coping strategies and seeking support when needed, we can better manage our emotions and protect our liver health in the long term. Remember, you are not alone in your journey, and there are resources available to help you navigate the emotional challenges of living with Hepatitis C. There is also now a safe treatment available for hepatitis c.

I am offering some support if you feel you need some and I can help. Email me: mano @hepatitis-c-treatment-and-medicine.center