Boiling Point: problem anger and what we can do about it

For Mental Health Action Week 2008, we have launched a report about problem anger, how it affects individuals, families and communities, and what we can do to minimise the harm it causes.

Background to the report

Mounting evidence links anger with a range of physical, mental and social problems. Chronic and intense anger has been linked with Coronary Heart Disease, stroke, cancer and common physical illnesses including colds and flu, and generally poorer health; as well as increased risk-taking, poor decision-making and substance misuse.

Higher levels of anger are related to lower levels of social support and higher stress levels. High levels of anger expression have also been associated with less frequent use of positive coping strategies such as actively addressing problems. Anger has also been linked with mental health problems including depression and self-harm. People describe anger as more likely to have a negative effect on interpersonal relationships than any other emotion.

There is evidence to suggest that societal changes are contributing to a rise in emotional problems. Public polling carried out for this report indicates that a majority of the population believe that people in general are getting angrier. Influential authors quoted in this report have examined life in 21st century Western society and stated recently that we are we are getting angrier, and that despite 50 years of economic growth in the UK, we are no happier.

However, any changes we are witnessing are unlikely to be in the core structure of our basic emotions. Evolution is a slow process - rapid changes are instead occurring in our social habits and economic and political circumstances and how they influence our thinking, feeling and behaviour.

Resources

Other Mental Health Action Week publications

Key findings from the report

GPs report that they have few options for helping patients who come to them with problem anger
There are some good examples of NHS-funded anger management courses and others being run by voluntary organisations, as well as private sector providers
Where NHS services do not exist GPs can refer people to voluntary sector providers and others, but often aren’t confident to do so
There are approximately 50 published research studies that have tested some kind of intervention for anger problems with adults and another 40 relating to children or adolescents, and researchers have concluded that successful treatments exist for adults, adolescents and children
Almost a third of people polled (32%) say they have a close friend or family member who has trouble controlling their anger
More than one in ten (12%) say that they have trouble controlling their own anger
More than one in four people (28%) say that they worry about how angry they sometimes feel
One in five of people (20%) say that they have ended a relationship or friendship with someone because of how they behaved when they were angry
64% either strongly agree or agree that people in general are getting angrier
Fewer than one in seven (13%) of those people who say they have trouble controlling their anger have sought help for their anger problems
58% of people wouldn’t know where to seek help if they needed help with an anger problem
84% strongly agree or agree that people should be encouraged to seek help if they have problems with anger
Those who have sought help were most likely to do so from a health professional (such as a counsellor, therapist, GP or nurse), rather than from friends and family, social workers, employers or voluntary organisations
Generational differences are striking. Older people are less likely to report having a close friend or family member with an anger problem or to be worried about how angry they sometimes feel or that they have trouble dealing with their own anger, than younger people
There are striking regional differences in responses to our anger polling – especially between Scotland and other parts of the UK

Download the full report - [365 KB] Boiling Point: Problem anger and what we can do about it