The Hidden Link Between Anger and Sickness

23 Sept

Ever feel so angry you could scream… but instead, you get a migraine? A stomachache? You lose your voice or wake up feeling like you got hit by something invisible?

You're not imagining it.
Your body is keeping score.

Women navigate a world that constantly tells us to simmer down, but that internal combustion is making us sick. Connecting the dots between rage and our health isn't just a conversation—it's a revolution we must lead.

When Rage Becomes a Symptom

Anger that doesn’t get expressed doesn’t disappear. It gets redirected. Into your gut. Your jaw. Your immune system. Your sleep. Your appetite. Your sense of control.

We were never taught this in sex ed or health class. But science has been saying it for years: chronic emotional suppression, especially rage, has physical consequences.

Your body isn't just a vessel; it's an ally sending you signals. Which means, your migraine isn't just a migraine; it's a message.

The Biology of Bottled Rage

Here’s what happens when you keep swallowing anger to make everyone else comfortable:

Your brain activates fight-or-flight hormones like cortisol and adrenaline
Your heart rate and blood pressure spike
Your muscles stay tense
Your digestive system slows down or goes into overdrive
Your immune system gets confused and inflamed

If this becomes your daily baseline, you’re not just stressed. You’re sick.

The Conditions No One Connects to Rage (But Should)

Let’s talk about the health issues that disproportionately affect women—and that are often dismissed as “just stress” or “in your head”:

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): 70% of cases are women
Autoimmune diseases: 80% of people with autoimmune conditions like lupus, Hashimoto’s, and rheumatoid arthritis are women
Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue: Over 90% of diagnosed patients are women
Endometriosis: Affects 1 in 10 women, often misdiagnosed for years
TMJ (jaw tension), migraines, and chronic pain disorders
Disordered eating and body-based anxiety symptoms

These aren’t just “sensitive girl problems.” They’re signs of a system that conditions women and femmes to suppress emotion—then blames them when their bodies collapse under the weight of it.

Why We’re Told to Stay Quiet

Let’s be honest: people don’t fear female sadness. They fear female rage.

We’re told:

“Calm down.”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“You’re being too emotional.”
“Just let it go.”

And we do. We let it go—into our lymph nodes. Into our gut. Into the tension that won’t quit. Into the burnout that won’t lift. Into the silence that eats us from the inside.

Rage Isn’t the Problem. Suppressing It Is.

Anger is a normal, intelligent, protective emotion. It tells us when something is wrong. When something needs to change. When a boundary has been crossed.

We don’t need to control our anger—we need to trust it.
Because unspoken rage doesn’t go away. It shapeshifts into symptoms—and then, it slows us down.

Start Listening to What Your Body’s Been Saying

You don’t need a medical degree to start decoding your own signals.

Start here:

Notice what happens in your body right before you swallow a feeling
Name where anger sits (chest, jaw, stomach, fists, throat?)
Ask yourself: Is this mine? Is it safe to release?

Techniques for embodied healing range from yoga to scream therapy; find what releases your rage.

Tiny Rebellions That Help You Heal

Try a Rage-to-Release Journaling Prompt.
Try one physical release: stomping, shaking, hitting a pillow, screaming into a towel, a rage-fueled playlist with the volume all the way up.
Learn from experts who explore this link—start with The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté, or Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’s work on ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) or book The Deepest Well.
Text a friend: “How do you know when you’re angry?” Start building a language around rage that doesn’t make you feel broken.