Balance May 2018 - 38

T O O FA S T 2 F U R I O U S

THE EXPERT

About:
Dr. Aria is a behaviour
change psychologist
and mindfulness
expert. Creator of
the FIT Method,
he specialises in
the psychology of
sustainable weight loss
(dr-aria.com).

W

e've all been
there. You're
feeling tense
after a stressful
day when a
discussion about something small like doing
the dishes escalates into a major argument.
A wave of anger peaks inside you and before
you know it, you're shouting, saying things
you'll regret in a few minutes.
Recent public surveys reveal the majority of
individuals report they're angrier now than 12
months ago. Cities and emotional wellbeing are
intimately linked, and although city dwellers
are typically wealthier, living in an urban
sprawl is associated with greater stress and a
significantly increased risk of mental health
disorders (by 20-40%).
The economic and political uncertainty of
Brexit seems to have raised baseline stress
levels and even the commute appears to bring
the worst out of the most rational Londoners,
whether it's others not "moving down" the
carriage or failing to have our Oyster card
ready. Is stress making us angrier than ever?

STRESS AND THE CITY
A groundbreaking study published in Nature
investigated the effects of city living on the
way that the brain processes stress. City life

was associated with increased activity in a
brain structure called the amygdala. This
area is also critically implicated in anger
and aggression, and with stress and anger
sharing neural circuitry, it helps explain
why individuals in stressful and threatening
environments display higher levels of anger
and irritability. But the story doesn't end
there. Growing up in a city affected the area
in the brain involved in regulating stress and
emotions. Stress and the city appear to affect
the brain structures involved in expressing
anger and controlling it. That's what we call
a double whammy.

LINKED IN THE BODY
Anger and stress can be viewed as physical
reactions to something. They both trigger
the 'fight or flight' response, flooding the
body with hormones (such as adrenaline and
cortisol) that produce distinct physiological
changes. You know the script: your heart
pounds, blood pressure shoots up, breathing
quickens, perspiration increases and
body temperature rises.

Stress is a reaction to demands that we
find overwhelming (you're under pressure
at work when your boss gives you another
task. Now you feel like you have more than
you can handle).
Anger is a response to the way that we
interpret a situation and is often related
to feeling attacked, hurt, mistreated and
frustrated (you ask your boss for a slightly
later deadline since you'll struggle to get
it finished, but they refuse. What's worse,
they later take credit for this piece of work
you had to stay late to complete!)

May 2018 BA LA N CE

39



http://www.dr-aria.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance May 2018

Balance May 2018 - 1
Balance May 2018 - 2
Balance May 2018 - 3
Balance May 2018 - 4
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