"But it's not FAIR ..."

A new study found that people who thought they were treated unfairly were more likely to suffer a heart attack or chest pain. Those who thought they had experienced the worst injustice were 55% more likely to experience a coronary event than people who thought life was fair ...

Researchers found that the rate of cardiac events among civil servants who reported low levels of unfair treatment was 28% higher than for those who had no complaints. People who reported moderate unfairness saw their risk rise by 36%.

Unfairness. Victimization. Obsessing over injustices. Lethal.

One of the proven approaches to anger management is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an approach that helps one to deconstruct the situations that trigger anger — specifically, to deconstruct the beliefs and judgments that lead directly to anger.

Often, people become angry in the face of unfairness or injustice. They judge the situation as wrong. It seems to threaten their sense of fairness.

While a strong sense of justice is admirable, becoming angry at injustice or unfairness is counter productive. The anger response does not change the situation, it only endangers the angry person.

Anger management uses CBT to guide one to deconstruct their own response to injustice or unfairness. It helps to clarify the judgments and invites the person to enhance their emotional intelligence by finding a new perspective on the situation. Often times keeping an anger log will help to create this new perspective. Sometimes it's simply enough to ask oneself "What is a more helpful way to view this situation?"

When there is a genuine injustice, this is not the practice of denial. Instead, finding a new perspective allows one to practice compassion and emotional intelligence while recognizing injustice. It encourages one to accept the situation, including one's own sense of outrage. It empowers one to step out of anger and into effective action.