Health news articles about how anger causes physical and even mental illnesses may not be shocking for some people. We may have seen or heard long before about how some very short-tempered people have suffered from heart attacks. In fact, science has proven that anger causes our blood pressure to rise, our hearts to beat faster, and our muscles to become stiff.

After a study done more than a decade ago, the link between anger and developing illnesses like heart disease became stronger. Some psychologists who adhere to Freudian beliefs even think that depression could be a result of deep-seated anger. It may not be so convincing for some but we can all attest that anger affects our health and wellness. It disrupts our day and sends us into thinking negative thoughts instead of staying happy and positive.

So, before your blood pressure soar into sky high levels, before your heart rate pounds like it will explode any minute, and before your muscles feel like it had just been cemented, learn to avoid being angry at all times. Here are some mental health tips that you can do to control your anger:

Use your imagination as a weapon. If you feel like hurting the person that caused you to be so angry, use your imagination instead of physically hurting others. Imagining what you want to do to that person can help diffuse your anger and prevent you from doing something that you might regret in the end.

Be flexible. People often get angry when their expectations have not been met. A dull service and stale food at a restaurant, for instance, can cause people to get mad and disappointed. If you can forgive a situation and let it pass instead of turning it into a very nasty one, it would save your blood pressure from soaring.

Empathize. Try to understand when some people do something that makes you angry. Understanding why they did something that you didn't like might make you think twice about starting any heated argument.

Communicate. Expressing your feelings to the person concerned can help you find solutions to the problem instead of merely getting angry and ending up with misunderstandings.

Take a deep breath. It can help you stay calm and can also give you time to think of other ways to resolve the issue.

Work out. Do physical exercises or activities that can release your tension in a healthier way. Take a walk, run, stretch, or do creative activities like writing, painting, or drawing that can take your thoughts away from getting angry.

Let go. You can't make everyone please you. It will only make you frustrated. Instead, learn to accept and appreciate some things and some people that you cannot change.

There are som many articles on health and wellness that have stressed the importance of managing our anger. It is important to always remind ourselves of these ways of taming our anger so that we can prevent unpleasant situations with others and we can also protect ourselves from its unhealthy effects. Whenever something takes you at the brink of losing your temper, remember that it's not the other person but your physical and mental health that's at stake.