Emotions are a normal and healthy part of life, but when your emotions start to control your thoughts and behavior, it can lead to serious problems in your relationships, career, and other aspects of life. When anger starts to take over your life, it can lead to aggression, physical and verbal altercations, and physical and emotional harm toward yourself and others.
Anger management is the ability to modulate your anger and control the way it affects you rather than the other way around. This control allows you to feel and process feelings of anger in a healthy, productive manner without letting them negatively affect your thoughts and behaviors. If you experience anger issues, working with a Licensed Clinical Psychologist is the key to regaining control and learning how to manage your emotions effectively. Learn more about the signs you need anger management intervention and treatment with this overview.
When Anger Becomes a Problem
How can you tell the difference between anger as a natural reaction and anger as a problem that is influencing your thoughts and behaviors? Remember that, like any emotion, the problem does not stem from anger itself. Instead, pay attention to your reaction to anger. How do you act on it? Holding onto anger without processing, expressing, or releasing it in a healthy manner leads to frustration, aggression, and negative thought and behavior patterns.
When anger turns into anger issues, it can cause serious problems for your physical, emotional, social, and Mental Health. Anger issues lead to strained relationships with partners, friends, family, and coworkers. They can cause conflict at work or within other social groups. Unresolved anger can also lead to lasting stress and tension, causing physical health problems such as muscle tension, high blood pressure, digestive issues, and cardiovascular issues.
What Does Unmanaged Anger Look Like?
There are several signs and symptoms that can help you tell the difference between healthy expressions of anger and anger issues. Most of these symptoms revolve around aggression and feeling a lack of control over your reactions to anger. These include thoughts and behaviors such as:
- Arguing with others more frequently
- Expressing anger through shouting or verbal abuse
- Expressing anger through violent actions, such as breaking things
- Threatening violence when angry
- Physical altercations with others
- Self-destructive behaviors such as violence toward yourself
- Feeling reckless or disregarding rules
- Feeling as if you have to repress or hide anger
- Regretting words or actions that stem from anger
These symptoms indicate that you are not managing anger in a healthy manner. Identifying these signs is the first step to seeking management intervention from a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and receiving the help you need for your own mental and emotional well-being.
Types of Anger Management Issues
Anger comes from different places and presents itself in different ways. Many people think of poor anger management as involving verbal and physical conflicts, but that is not always the case. Below are a few examples of the different types of anger issues that point to a need for professional intervention.
Anger at Yourself
Some anger is completely internal. When you turn your anger inward toward yourself, you lash out at yourself with frustration, blame, and negative thought patterns. This can lead to feelings of guilt, self-hatred, and a negative self-image. Without intervention, inward anger can also lead to aggression and self-punishment. You might avoid activities you enjoy, fail to take care of yourself, or engage in self-destructive behaviors such as substance abuse or self-harm.
Anger at Others
Many people with anger management issues direct their frustration and aggression outward. This form of anger can lead to higher levels of aggression, such as verbal arguments, physical altercations, and hitting or breaking objects.
Outward expressions of anger can occur no matter where you place the blame for your feelings. You can be angry with one person but express your anger at another. You can even place blame on yourself and still point your anger and aggression toward others.
Passive-Aggressive Anger
Not all anger issues are outright aggressive. Some people display their anger in more passive ways without shouting or becoming physical. This is known as passive-aggressive anger. It tends to be more verbal based and includes behaviors such as making sarcastic comments or hidden insults toward others.
Passive-aggressive anger can also happen through indirect actions. For example, if someone asks you to do them a favor, you might do it in an unhelpful or annoying way. Passive-aggressive behaviors like this often avoid direct confrontation, but they still allow feelings of anger to build within you. They also often lead to bursts of outward anger in the future.
Disproportionate Anger
Another sign that you need anger management intervention and treatment is if the scale of your anger is disproportionate to the thing that made you angry. Do small issues set you off? When you feel angry, does it usually lead to extreme stress, frustration, and arguments? These are indicators that you are holding a lot of excess anger without processing it effectively. When you experience small conflicts or frustrations, it adds to your high levels of anger, creating a disproportionate reaction.
Long-Lasting Anger
Anger issues make it difficult to let go of anger even after the frustrating situation is over. When small things ruin your entire day or one bad day ruins your entire week, it is a sign that you are experiencing long-lasting anger and need anger management help from a Licensed Clinical Psychologist.
Holding on to anger can lead to grudges or thoughts of seeking revenge. It also prevents you from processing and healing from events that happened years ago. Long-lasting anger has a negative impact on your thought patterns and emotional health. It impacts your physical health as well, creating prolonged states of stress and hypervigilance that can lead to chronic health problems such as muscle tension or cardiovascular issues.
How Anger Management Treatment Helps
Through anger management treatment with a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, you learn to recognize what triggers your anger. This allows you to view your situation and your reactions to it clearly and calmly. This practice—along with learning skills like emotional regulation—allows you to feel anger without letting it control you.
A Licensed Clinical Psychologist can help you address the root of your anger issues so that you can overcome these challenges and achieve better emotional and mental well-being. If you are looking for a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who offers anger management therapy in Los Angeles, Irvine, Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Bel Air, Century City, Brentwood, Westwood, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, and the surrounding areas, contact Blair Wellness Group to see how our evidence-based treatment plans can help you.
