Choosing A Method That’s Right For You
Uncontrolled and unpredictable anger can be a danger to those who experience it, the people closest to them, and sometimes to innocent bystanders who are at the wrong place at the wrong time. Anger can affect all aspects of your life, including work and family. If you or someone you know is suffering from an anger disorder, it’s important to reach out to a health care professional and seek treatment.
Fortunately, there are several effective treatment options available for people suffering from anger disorders. An important first step in resolving your anger is diagnosing the underlying reason for it. This information will allow your health care provider to make an informed decision on what the first line of treatment should be.
As a patient, you should know that treatments for anger disorders differ depending on the person and situation. You may need to try more than one treatment before finding one that works because what works for one person might not work for you. The important thing is to be patient until you find a treatment that works for you and then stick to that treatment to help you reduce your anger and learn to keep it under control.
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
- Are there any medical conditions that could be causing my depression?
- What are the side effects and risks of the antidepressant you are recommending?
- Are there any foods or other substances I will need to avoid?
- How will this drug interact with other prescriptions Im taking?
- How long will I have to take this medication?
- Will withdrawing from the drug be difficult?
- Will my depression return when I stop taking medication?
Medication isnt your only option for depression relief
Remember, antidepressants arent a cure. Medication may treat some symptoms of depression, but cant change the underlying issues and situations in your life that are making you depressed. Thats where exercise, therapy, mindfulness meditation, social support and other lifestyle changes come in. These non-drug treatments can produce lasting changes and long-term relief.
Treating Anger Disorders: Anger Management Treatment Program Options
Uncontrolled anger can affect your relationships, your job and your health. Rage can take over your life and result in depression, violence and suicidal feelings. Your kids, neighbors and coworkers can also be at risk from uncontrolled outbursts and erratic behavior. If you are suffering from anger issues, it is vital that you get the support you need to develop effective management strategies.
Several options are available, including both inpatient and outpatient treatment with mental health counselors. Executive treatment programs and luxury facilities are also available to serve a wider variety of patients. Modern treatments are targeted and effective, often offering results in as little as six to eight weeks.
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Anger Issues And Adhd: Treatment Approaches
Most treatment studies for ADHD look at how core symptoms of ADHD change. Treating anger problems in individuals with ADHD has only recently become a major research focus, with useful insights revealed for patient care. Alternative and experimental approaches are also increasingly showing promise for patients with emotional dysregulation and anger issues.
Causes Of Anger In Depression
What are the causes of anger related to depression? There is some evidence to suggest that serotonergic dysfunction may be partly to blame. In other words, the balance of neurochemicals in your brain may be off-kilter, leading to irritability, depression, and anger. For this reason, medications used to treat depression may also help to relieve your symptoms of anger.
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Connection Between Depression & Anger
Research suggests that anger may play an influential role in depression. In fact, some clinicians postulate that depression is simply anger directed inwards. Today, many theorists and mental health professionals argue that subsequent challenges associated with coping with anger may trigger the onset and maintenance of depression.3
Anger typically arises in response to a real or perceived threat. Whether its being rejected, disrespected, or betrayed, these experiences trigger a sense of powerlessness that can quickly spiral into anger. Experiencing multiple episodes without learning how to cope appropriately may reinforce depression.
Likewise, people with depression symptoms often exhibit symptoms of overt or suppressed anger.4 For one, their depression may make them feel upset with themselves. In addition, depression can make it challenging to cope and reconcile anger. If you lack the energy or motivation to use healthy coping skills, difficult emotions can quickly compound and become overwhelming.
Finally, there might be gender differences explaining some of this connection between depression and anger. For instance, in many cases, its more socially acceptable for a man to be aggressive vs. tearful. As we know, young men are praised to act tough and be strong.5
How Betterhelp Can Help
If you are struggling with anger problems, you don’t need to fight the battle alone. The counselors at BetterHelp are online and ready to help. BetterHelp is an online therapy platform that can offer all of the help you need. The best thing about getting help from a BetterHelp professional is convenience. You can get help right from your living room. See below for some reviews of BetterHelp Counselors, from clients experiencing similar issues.
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How Is Intermittent Explosive Disorder Diagnosed
Diagnosis begins with taking the individuals general medical history, psychiatric history and conducting a physical and mental status exam. To be diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder, an individual must display a failure to control aggressive impulses as defined by either of the following:
- Verbal aggression or physical aggression toward property, animals or individuals, occurring twice weekly, on average, for a period of 3 months. The aggression does not result in physical harm to individuals or animals or destruction of property. Or
- Three episodes involving damage or destruction of property and/or physical assault involving physical injury against animals or other individuals occurring within a 12-month period.
The degree of aggression displayed during the outbursts is greatly out of proportion to situation. In addition, the outbursts are not pre-planned they are impulse and/or anger based. Also, the outbursts are not better explained by another mental disorder, medical condition, or substance abuse.
Common Terms And Phrases
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Treatment For Anger And Depression
If your doctor feels that your episodes of anger are triggered by specific situations or people, treatment suggestions may include staying away from what triggers those episodes. Your doctor might suggest lifestyle changes such as breathing exercises you can do if you begin to feel angry. Your doctor may also recommend you go outside for fresh air or a brisk walk to clear your mind. These things may help you control your anger and take your mind off of what caused it in the first place.
If you experience anger continuously for two weeks or more and it doesnt seem to go away easily, you may need to try additional treatments. Your doctor may recommend seeing a mental health therapist. They can work with you on managing and understanding your anger. They can also help you manage depression.
If youre experiencing depression, your doctor may prescribe medication. You may have to try several medications or dosages before finding a treatment that works for you. Be patient and dont stop taking medication without first discussing it with your doctor.
How Do Mood Stabilizers Work
Your brain balance and stability are affected primarily by the neurotransmitters: epinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. These chemicals affect the way your brain tells you to react to your environment, and if they are out of balance they can tell you things that are not conducive to quality of life and good relationships.
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All these chemicals are affected by each other and the hormones in your body signaling you how to feel about what is happening. Here are some examples to give you an idea of how they affect your mood and mental state:
Low serotonin: Life is NOT good.
High serotonin: Life is good.
Low epinephrine: Dont do anything
High epinephrin: Do something now.
Low serotonin and high epinephrine: Something is wrong and you need to act now .
Low serotonin and low epinephrine: Life sucks and I cant do anything about it .
Dopamine, on the other hand, gives you motivation and focus. Low or high dopamine levels can prevent your ability to see clearly what is effecting you. It is less important to stabilize your mood than it is to know if you are in a stable mood or not.
I give recommendations at the end of the article for daily tonic herbs that can promote mental balance and clarity. Myself and countless other health enthusiasts have found fabulous benefits from these herbal remedies as mood stabilizers.
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Does Depression Cause Anger
In mental health, its far too simplistic to assume that one condition causes another symptom or issue. Instead, its better to assume that there is likely a correlation, and many confounding variables may contribute to this relationship. In this case, depression may trigger more anger, and unresolved anger might exacerbate depression.
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Still, people with depression can have a hard time recognizing this in their own lives.
When I called up the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance to ask about anger, I reached its communications person, Kevin Einbinder. He initially thought to himself, “I’m sure somebody else certainly deals with anger, but I don’t have anger issues associated with depression.”
Then he started reflecting on his life with depression over the past three decades. “I thought of all the people in my life who have interacted with me my family, the counselors, psychiatrists, even employers, significant others,” he says, “and I realized that anger was an underlying factor in all those relationships.”
For example, he used to use caustic, sarcastic humor to put people down. “This really drove people away,” says Einbinder. He also recalls sending angry emails late at night after lying awake and ruminating about things that had happened during the day. A counselor helped him see why this wasn’t such a good way to handle problems.
Overall, though, he and his caregivers never focused on anger.
In hindsight, he says, he really wishes they had.
“I think that would have provided a tremendous amount of context for what’s adding to my depression and in helping me, early on in my life, with more effective coping mechanisms,” Einbinder says.
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Food As An Anger Trigger
Many studies have indicated that there are many foods which trigger aggression in the body. Foods high in starch, sugars, caffeine and additives increase the blood sugar level in the body and cause aggression.
Refined foods are normally low in thiamine and chromium which are needed to control aggression and blood glucose levels.
Hence anger can be diminished by controlling the kind of food we eat. Research has proved that the increase in the consumption of fast food and foods high in refined sugars can led to an increase in the anger outburst incidences.
Drinks containing caffeine are also linked to an increase in the level of anger a person is feeling.
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Lifestyle Changes And Natural Remedies
Some people may choose to take herbal remedies to treat depression.
However, there is little research to prove that they are effective in treating depression.
Some of the substances that doctors have studied include:
- S-adenosylmethionine
- St. Johns wort
In addition to these supplements, certain lifestyle practices may help lift a persons mood. These include:
- engaging in regular exercise
- spending time with loved ones
- eating a healthful diet
Some people also report that alternative therapies such as acupuncture, meditation, tai chi, and yoga can boost their mood.
Light therapy is another alternative treatment option. It involves exposing a person to a special light box. The light can help regulate the production of melatonin, a chemical that plays a role in a persons natural sleep-wake cycle.
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What May Depression And Anger Outbursts Look Like
A person with depression may experience anger in a number of different ways. It can present itself in the following ways:
- Sensitive to criticism
- Irritable
- Verbally and physically violent to others or themselves
A person with depression may turn their anger in on themselves, rather than displaying visible outbursts. This can result in a person carrying out self-sabotaging or self-harmful behaviours.
They may also experience other symptoms of depression, including intense sadness, guilt, an inability to concentrate and indecisiveness.
Side Effects Of Antidepressant Medications
All medications can have side-effects. Some people experience no side-effects. Others may find the side-effects distressing. In most cases, side-effects lessen as treatment continues.
Treatment is usually started at a low dose, to minimize side-effects, and then slowly increased until the ideal dose is found. The ideal dose is one that provides the greatest benefit with minimum side-effects.
If you are experiencing side effects, check the information given to you by your doctor or pharmacist on the specific effects of any drug you have been prescribed. If side-effects are not mild and tolerable, it is best to continue taking your medication as prescribed but let your doctor know as soon as possible. Your doctor may:
- encourage you to wait a little longer for the side-effects to fade
- adjust your dose
- suggest you take the medication at a different time of day
- prescribe other medications to help control side-effects
- change your medication
- stop medication treatment and suggest a different type of treatment approach.
Side-effects vary depending on the type of medication. More information on side-effects is included for each type of types of antidepressant.
You can help to control possible side-effects on your own by:
Do antidepressants increase the risk of suicide?
Before starting treatment, prepare for the possibility of feeling worse before you feel better. Know what supports are available to you and who you can call.
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What Is The Link Between Depression And Anger
Anger is an emotion that everyone feels sometimes, but if a person is feeling angry a lot of the time, they may be experiencing depression.
In many cases, medication, therapy, lifestyle changes, or a combination of these treatments can help provide symptom relief.
In this article, we look at the connection between anger and depression, as well as the other symptoms and diagnosis of depression. We also discuss the treatment options for both anger and depression.
According to researchers, there is an association between the level of anger that people experience and the severity of depression.
In a 2013 study involving 536 participants who were experiencing major depressive episodes, 54.5% reported feelings of irritability and anger.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America , depression can manifest in different ways in different people.
The ADAA note that females with depression tend to feel sad or guilty, whereas males experiencing depression are more likely to feel irritable and angry. However, although this is generally the case, it is important to note that males can still feel sadness or guilt, and females can be irritable or angry.
An older article in the journal BJPsych Advances linked feeling angry with the development of depression.
The authors of the article suggest that this anger stems from narcissistic vulnerability, which is when a person is extremely sensitive to any perceived rejection or loss.
- irritability
Therapies For Anger Management Issues
Many therapeutic strategies are available to help you deal with anger issues. Some of these include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Avoidance of problematic situations
- Humor and self-deprecation
While its possible to improve your anger response on your own, a qualified practitioner can help you move more quickly to successful management.
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Treatment For Anger Disorders
One of the most common types of psychotherapy is cognitive behavioral therapy. The purpose of the treatment is to help an angry person recognize the self-defeating negative thoughts that lie behind anger flare-ups. Patients work with a mental health professional to learn how to manage stressful life circumstances more successfully.
The cognitive behavioral approach has many benefits. Patients learn to:
- Cope better with difficult life situations
- Positively resolve conflicts in relationships
- Deal with grief more effectively
- Mentally handle emotional stress caused by illness, abuse or physical trauma
- Overcome chronic pain, fatigue and other physical symptoms
Cognitive therapies are structured and may offer quicker results than other approaches. Better yet, the results are lasting, with patients showing significantly decreased relapse rates.
This sort of treatment tends to focus on specific problems and personal triggers. Youll learn how to deal with your particular issues using conscious, goal-centered strategies.The specific steps in cognitive behavioral therapy include:
- Identification of situations or circumstances in your life that lead to trouble
- Awareness of your thoughts and emotions surrounding anger triggers
- Acknowledgement of inaccurate, negative thought patterns
- Relearning of healthier, positive thought patterns