THE AWFUL PENALTY WE PAY FOR GETTING ANGRY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 658, 8 April 1914, Page 7

THE AWFUL PENALTY WE PAY FOR GETTING ANGRY.

There are at least two men on this earth who know better than to get angry. One is Prof. Lange, of the University of Copenhagen the other is D. Maurice de Fleury. the distinguished French scientist. After this article has been read there may he a great many others ready to make a mental resolve never to get angry again.

Working along separate lines. Prof. Lange and Dr. de Fleury have Deen investigating the causes of anger end the effect of anger on the human system. Summed up in its briefest form their verdict is (and both investigators reached the same conclusion) that every time a man gets angry he shortens his life so many minutes, or days, perhaps even years. A great deal depends on the intensity of his anger. Dr de Fleury states that "every time we become angry our vitality shrinks- so much in proportion for every outburst. After even the most artfully suppressed signs of bad temper our vitality becomes smaller and smaller, until finally nothing is left." The moral deduced from the advancement of this latest theory in medicine is. of course, that we should never allow ourselves to become angry if we value our health and life. Anger is a certain kind of cerebral (brain) excitement, explains the French doctor. The hypersthenic (very strong) subject is always on ita verge, while, the nsurasthenic (nervously debilitated) becomes infuriated only by a sudden bound of reaction excited from -without. But at the moment when they are let loose the two are alike, save that the strong man is a blinOcr brute, while the weak man is somewhat of an actor and seems to aim at effect. BAD STATE OF MUSCLES DURING PASSIONS.

Prof. Lange holds, in confirming all recent researches,, that "all emotions are due to disorders ol the circulation of the blood, and anger, in particular, to a very intense dilation of the small arteries of the brain. Redness and swelling of the i'ace are constant signs of anger, and anger is a state of hypernervaition." The "white rage," so popular 'in fiction, is an opposite phenomenon of the blood.

j During fits of auger," Dr. de Fleiuy states, I think it may be said that all the muscles of the organism are in a state of extreme contraction. We already know that the hand of an impatient man in a state of mental irritation presses th 3 dynamometer with unwonted' energy ; in fact, our whole being is affected., but even the mnsclcs of our vegetable life, those of our stomach or those of our arteries, share our enervation and are. contracted.

"The muscular fibres surrounding the arteries in which the blood Circulates, and 1 which form a continuous sheath for them, are tightened in proportion to our anger. The calibre of the arterial tube diminishes, and then, the blood being under a very high pressure, the watery part is driven black into the surrounding tissues and the red globules, diluted in a less quantity of liquid, appear far more numerous in the field of the microscope. This concentration of blood and rise in arterial pressure I consider to be almost always present in case of anger. I have found them whenever I have been able to examine a pat'ient.

"Let us form a clear idea of all that there is in a fit of anger—vain expenditure of effort,- aimless movements, energy spent in biting the fists, stamping on the ground, kicking against doors or tearing up a book. All this clearly indicates a mental condition of no high order. At every step we recognise more clearly that the problem of anger is a problem of cerebral mechanics.

"In a condition of nervous excitement all our energies are at a high pitch. The heart sends to every part of the body concentrated blood. extraordinary rich in globules, which utilises itself instantaneously in the tissues ; our organic combustion takes place with almost doubled intensity, our sensibility is considerably excited. We are too much alive. "Variations of temper are variations of energy, of muscular tonics. One is sad or timid because one is too weak ; angry because ens is too strong. Oscillations of the mind are caused by the excitement produced by the contact of our nerves of sensibility. There is a short circuit in our nerves, followed by a rudely increased muscular energy, the heart's power of contraction, the blood pressure in the arteries and the activity of nutrition. '''Now the immense work performed by the brain during the anger crisis is so much work lost, worse than lost, harmful ; apart from the evil 'it may do .to its object, who may be killed by it, it is harmful to the person who gets into the rage. We are degraded by angernot ' only does it humiliate us in the eyes of others, but it leaves us dejected and exhausted.

'"I acknowledge," Dr. de Fleury concludes, '"that this, idea would be humiliating if it were not scientifically exact and practically very moral. In fact, it teaches us that in order to moderate the vain and lamentable paroxysms of anger or to bring them to an end we must replace them by regular, moderate, and useful work."—'"'Popular Science Sittings.''