Find out what are the most common causes that make you see red

Do you find yourself cursing people out on the highway? Going into tirades when your child sulks about chores? Slamming doors after a simple difference of opinion? Everyone gets angry. Anger is a natural emotion. Anger can even be beneficial. But if you find yourself becoming enraged too easily and too frequently, your anger may be detrimental to both your health and your relationships. Anger can lead to depression and damage your career.

When anger is expressed properly, it can have beneficial effects on your health, relationships and work. Researchers have found that angry episodes can strengthen personal relationships over 50 per cent of the time and social anger is what has moved societies forward in terms of the fights for rights and equality.

Anger exists on a personal scale with displeasure, dislike or irritation on one end and rage on the other. Reacting to criticism, frustration or some kind of threat with anger is a normal response. You may become angry after feeling lonely, frightened or sad. Uncontrollable rage, however, impairs your judgment and can cause you to do and say unreasonable and irreparable things.

Chronic anger can 
lead to:

• Alcohol/drug abuse
• Backaches
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Headaches
• Heart attack
• High blood pressure
• Insomnia
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Low self-esteem
• Reduced pain threshold
• Self injury
• Skin afflictions
• Stroke
• Weakened immune 
system

Anger seems to be on the rise all over the world, and while most of the research statistics available apply to the UK and the US, they are also global indicators of human reactions.

Health:

• Aggressive people are more likely to experience atherosclerosis and heart attacks.
• Angry people are more likely to smoke and drink.
• Men that repress anger until they have violent outbursts are twice as likely to suffer from strokes.
• Women who vent their rage frequently have higher cholesterol levels.
• 72 per cent of workers report drinking too much coffee and having increased blood pressure.
• 64 per cent of UK office workers have experienced rage at work.
• 45 per cent of UK staff lose their tempers at work regularly.
• One in five UK workers experience work violence.
• 45 per cent of UK workers regularly lose their temper at work.
• About one million workers are injured by attacks by coworkers in the US every year.
• At least 1,000 murders occur in the workplace every year in the US.
• 50 per cent of Britons 
have reacted to problems with their computer by either abusing colleagues, hitting the computer, screaming, shouting or hurling parts of the PC.
• One in five British people react to computer problems with rage; 62 per cent say their work colleagues regularly swear at the computer while 53 per cent managers say computer problems trigger violence.
• 25 per cent of those 
under 25 admit to kicking their computers and one in six admit that they feel like taking that computer rage out on others.
• 71 per cent of Internet users experience net rage during searches and the average onset of frustration is 12 minutes.
• People are much more likely to express anger over the phone, 29 per cent more likely than in writing and 56 per cent more likely than face-to-face.
• 57 per cent of Britons admitted to losing their temper over the phone during the year and 61 per cent felt anger over the phone was increasing.
• 53 per cent of British consumers felt their blood pressure rose the moment they learned that they were being put on hold.

Office and Work:

• 64 per cent of UK office workers have experienced rage at work.
• 45 per cent of UK staff lose their tempers at work regularly.
• One in five UK workers experience work violence.
• 45 per cent of UK workers regularly lose their temper at work.
• About one million workers are injured by attacks by coworkers in the US every year.
• At least 1,000 murders occur in the workplace every year in the US.

Computer and Internet:

• 50 per cent of Britons 
have reacted to problems with their computer by either abusing colleagues, hitting the computer, screaming, shouting or hurling parts of the PC.
• One in five British people react to computer problems with rage; 62 per cent say their work colleagues regularly swear at the computer while 53 per cent managers say computer problems trigger violence.
• 25 per cent of those 
under 25 admit to kicking their computers and one in six admit that they feel like taking that computer rage out on others.
• 71 per cent of Internet users experience net rage during searches and the average onset of frustration is 12 minutes.

Phone Rage:

Community:

• 33 of Britons are not on speaking terms with their neighbours.
• One in 20 of UK residents has had a fight with the person living next door.
• Britons spend an average of 407 (individually) hours a year shopping and 73 of those hours are spent waiting in line. Over half of shoppers walk out because of frustration with the wait or bad service.
• One in five people admit to aggressive behaviour while shopping. One in three 16-24 year olds admit to aggressive behaviour while shopping and 10 per cent have been physically hurt during sales rushes.
• 50 per cent of shoppers become angry while looking for parking spots.
• Seven per cent of Britons 
say shopping stress has triggered arguments with their partners.

Shopping Rage:

• Britons spend an average of 407 (individually) hours a year shopping and 73 of those hours are spent waiting in line. Over half of shoppers walk out because of frustration with the wait or bad service.
• One in five people admit to aggressive behaviour while shopping. One in three 16-24 year olds admit to aggressive behaviour while shopping and 10 per cent have been physically hurt during sales rushes.
• 50 per cent of shoppers become angry while looking for parking spots.
• Seven per cent of Britons 
say shopping stress has triggered arguments with their partners.

Some of the most troubling statistics are those that refer to schools and homes.

Classroom Rage:

• 25 per cent of teachers 
in the UK were threatened by a pupil in the past year and 41 per cent included actual assaults.
• 13 per cent of British teachers were threatened by parents.
• US reports of violence against current or former partners are about 960,000 annually.
• 50 per cent of men that assaulted their wives also abuse their children.
• More than half the women that suffer domestic abuse live with children under the age of 12.
• Between 3.3 and 10 million children in the US witness domestic violence every year.
• 50 per cent of US adults admit that they would take revenge if their lover left them.
• 90 per cent of working women say they feel under stress; 87 per cent say stress causes them to shout at their kids.
• One in 10 parents have wanted to abandon their toddlers because of stress.
• 80.4 per cent of UK drivers have been involved in road rage, in Holland 78.1 per cent; Greece 76.6 per cent; France 70 per cent and Germany 69.8 per cent.
• More than 90 per cent 
of drivers have experienced road rage; 60 per cent 
admitted to losing their 
temper behind the 
wheel; 25 per cent have committed an act of road rage themselves.
• More than 1,000 people in the US die a year in road rage incidents.

Home:

• US reports of violence against current or former partners are about 960,000 annually.
• 50 per cent of men that assaulted their wives also abuse their children.
• More than half the women that suffer domestic abuse live with children under the age of 12.
• Between 3.3 and 10 million children in the US witness domestic violence every year.
• 50 per cent of US adults admit that they would take revenge if their lover left them.
• 90 per cent of working women say they feel under stress; 87 per cent say stress causes them to shout at their kids.
• One in 10 parents have wanted to abandon their toddlers because of stress.

Road Rage:

The most severe cases 
of uncontrollable anger 
end in murder. About 25,000 Americans are killed because of anger each 
year. So what’s behind such rage? Mostly stress but because our lives are more stressful today, the triggers become smaller and smaller. Take a look at these common causes of stress and anger.

• 85 per cent of people become very annoyed at other people’s cell phone use.
• 75 per cent of workers become angry when a colleague leaves the printer/fax machine empty of paper.
• 50 per cent of employees hate it when colleagues borrow stationary and don’t replace it.

Other sources of stress? Rush hour traffic, job dissatisfaction, longer working hours and not getting enough sleep, juggling work life balance, especially working parents with children, financial worries, information overload, lack of community interaction at work or in neighbourhoods.