Weird physical anger reaction: what gives?
September 5, 2017 1:00 PM   Subscribe

When I am extremely angry, I will usually try to do some deep breathing to dissipate/calm the immediate visceral "anger" response. This works, but lately I have noticed that when I am doing the breathing, I will feel a strange deep-muscle tingle - typically, only in my legs and feet. I do not notice this when deep-breathing for other reasons. What mechanism is at work here?

FWIW I don't have any ongoing health problems that I'm aware of. My blood pressure is low-normal (obviously I'm sure it's elevated when I'm very angry, but generally speaking it is low). And this doesn't seem to happen when I'm just moderately annoyed. It's a distinct feeling from "shaking with rage" which I also get from time to time.

I'm mildly concerned that it's a symptom of something bad, but mostly just curious. It's a pretty unpleasant sensation!
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese to Health & Fitness (5 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Tingling in the extremities is a common experience of adrenaline rush. I can guarantee I'll get it if I experience something like a near-miss traffic accident, or drop something in a way that's likely not going to end well, and I recently choked on something when I was home alone and finally managed to get it out, but the tingling was agonizing for a good 2 minutes after.

I don't get all that angry all that often, but I am pretty sure it happens then too.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:03 PM on September 5, 2017


You may be causing yourself to hyperventilate a little bit because you are deep-breathing more strongly than you do in other situations. I used to do it to myself by accident in First Aid classes when we were practicing CPR breathing. Does it go away once you start breathing normally again?
posted by colfax at 1:07 PM on September 5, 2017


Response by poster: Does it go away once you start breathing normally again?

After two or three minutes. In the meantime, it seems to surge up again on the exhale, and then decrease a little on the inhale (but not go away). Hyperventilation makes sense then, I suppose.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:21 PM on September 5, 2017


When you breathe strongly, you are exhausting carbon dioxide, the presence of which triggers the uptake of oxygen from your blood stream. In other words, you are blocking release of oxygen into the cells by over-breathing and lowering your carbon dioxide supply. If you are breathing heavily during exercising, this probably doesn't happen as the body is generating fresh carbon dioxide from exertion so the effect is not so strong.
posted by diode at 3:30 PM on September 5, 2017


A few times in periods of anxiety (think: pulled over by police) I have had an involuntary momentary twinge in my lower back, like in my internal oblique or serratus inferior. I wonder if this is related in a "get ready for action, or to run" sense. Lizard-brain stuff.
posted by rhizome at 9:29 PM on September 5, 2017


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