Unfortunately, most of us don’t deal with anger in a healthful and positive manner. Experts say that anger can affect your health by causing inflammation, increasing risk of chronic illness, reducing lung function, chronic pain, and digestive problems, not to mention cardiovascular events such as high blood pressure and heart rate.

Here are some ways to cope with anger in a more healthy way:

• Focus on relaxing. To cool anger, practice deep breathing, meditation, yoga, or progressive muscle relaxation. Yelling, screaming, kicking, or even running or working out when you are angry just fuels the fire of arousal.

• Take a time-out. Dr. Tony Fiore, author of Anger Management for the 21st Century, says that sometimes getting away for 10 minutes — or an hour or a couple of hours — drastically changes things when you come back.

• Don’t hold a grudge. Forgiveness is a powerful tool. If you allow anger and other negative feelings to crowd out positive feelings, you might find yourself drowning in your own bitterness or sense of injustice. Forgiving someone who angered you might teach you both a lesson while strengthening the relationship.

• Communicate assertively. Julia Baum, a therapist who practices in New York and California, recommends using respectful communication to express your anger. “You’re trying to take care of both of you in this conversation,” she says. “You’re not out for yourself, but you’re also not diminishing your feelings or thoughts and putting the other person ahead of you.”