Resources
The following links and published articles are meant to serve as an extra resource for my clients to learn about specific mental health care topics. Read on to find useful information as well as a few published works of my own!
Anger: Causes, types, health risks, and managementReviewed by Robert Bogenberger, PhDtherapist.com team's photoWritten bytherapist.com teamLast updated: 11/10/2023
What is anger?Anger is a normal, healthy emotion that usually arises in response to a perceived threat, insult, or injustice.Why does anger sometimes feel good?Anger can feel good for a number of reasons. Studies have shown that swearing out loud, for example, can lessen our perception of physical pain.1 For the same reason, many of us turn to anger to try to express our mental or emotional distress.Is anger always bad?Anger is a natural response and isn’t entirely good or bad. What matters is how you manage it: It’s important that you choose healthy expressions of anger instead of unhealthy ones that harm yourself or others.What causes anger?Anger is related to the body’s stress response. In response to a threat, our bodies often direct energy toward preparing to fight or flee. Anger, part of our “fight” response, is often accompanied by a rush of adrenaline, a rapid heart rate, and increased lung capacity.This doesn’t mean you have to punch someone or run away every time you’re angry. The body’s fight-or-flight response can fade without those actions. But your excess energy does need to go somewhere—and if it’s not released in a healthy way, you may experience physical or mental stress.Primary and secondary emotionsPrimary emotions are automatic, instinctual feelings we all have.2 They include anger, sadness, happiness, fear, disgust, and surprise. If a friend stands you up for lunch, for example, you’ll probably feel both surprise and sadness.Secondary emotions occur when we feel another emotion in response to a primary one. Anger can be a secondary emotion as well as a primary one. When anger is a secondary emotion, it’s often masking a more vulnerable feeling—for instance, you may feel angry that the friend who stood you up hurt your feelings.Some people call anger a secondary emotion to devalue it, painting it as just a cover-up for other feelings. While anger can certainly mask emotions like pain, fear, or shame, it can also be a useful, healthy emotion in its own right.Types of angerAnnoyanceOn the spectrum of anger, annoyance tends to live on the milder end. Annoyance can feel sharp and even painful, but it’s often fleeting. Strong reactions to annoying behaviors are usually viewed as inappropriate and may be a sign of anger management issues.Moral outrageMoral outrage is a type of anger that can feel good, healthy, and even productive. People typically feel it after witnessing or experiencing an injustice. When something ethically wrong or malicious happens, anger can be the right response. It can even lead to justice and healing.However, moral outrage can become unhealthy when it’s used to make someone feel inferior or to justify harming others. Moral outrage can lead to judgment and a desire for revenge, which can escalate to abuse or violence.Assertive angerAssertive anger is the healthy expression of anger recommended by experts.3 It enables you to express your point of view with confidence, clearly communicating your feelings without trying to hurt others.Although you can be assertive about your experience, you shouldn’t use it to place yourself above the person you’re arguing with. Staying clear of superiority and outrage lets you listen to others and potentially change your point of view. It also allows you to seek healing instead of worrying about who is “right” or “wrong.”Passive angerPassive anger happens when you refuse to admit or acknowledge your anger. Although this can sometimes be an intentional tactic to harm others (called “passive aggression”), it can also be an unintended way of denying your feelings to yourself. Some people truly believe they’re not angry, even as they sulk or snap. Passive anger can be just as harmful to yourself and others as more direct forms of anger.Aggressive angerWhen you’re feeling aggressively angry, you may find yourself wanting to cause physical or mental harm. The target of your aggression may be another person, or it may be yourself.
Outward signs of aggressive anger include:
ShoutingSwearing
BullyingCritiquing
Insulting
AccusingAggressive anger that’s directed inward may look like:
Isolation
Shame
Negative self-talk
Lack of self-care
Self-harm Suicidal behavior
Uncontrolled anger, also known as rage, is at the most extreme end of the anger spectrum. Rage leads to a number of dangerous and harmful behaviors, including fighting, bullying, abuse, assault, and violence. Rage is never a healthy response to a perceived threat or provocation.Health risks of chronic angerPersistent anger that goes unexpressed, unaddressed, or untreated can take a toll on your physical health,
increasing your risk for:4Heart diseaseBulimia
Type 2 diabetes
Driving accidents
Unhealthy lifestyle choicesAnger as a symptomA certain amount of anger is normal. But frequent, oversize anger could be a sign of an untreated mental health disorder or condition, such as:AnxietyGriefDepressionBipolar disorderPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)AddictionAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)Personality disordersHow to deal with anger in healthy waysPractice self-care: Basic self-care like eating regularly, getting enough sleep, and taking your prescribed medications are critical for your physical, mental, and emotional health. They equip you to handle the stresses of life and give you a healthy baseline for making good choices. Without this self-care, you’re more likely to mishandle your anger.Learn to self-regulate: Self-regulation is the ability to observe, manage, and adapt your feelings and reactions to suit a situation. A key piece of self-regulation is stress management. If you can learn to self-regulate and manage your stress, you’ll be able to choose healthier responses to situations that trigger your anger.Consider different perspectives: Empathy and compassion can help you view a frustrating situation from another point of view. Seeing the situation from the other side may reveal that anger isn’t the most helpful or appropriate response.Take a break: Stepping away from a situation and taking deep breaths can help you make better choices. It can also help you manage the physical signs of anger by lowering your heart rate and calming your body’s stress response.Communicate your anger: Sometimes it’s healthy and appropriate to express your anger. Assertively sharing your anger can help you communicate your side of the experience while still being open to the experiences of others.Seek professional help: If you’re struggling to manage your anger in healthy ways, anger management therapy may help.Get professional helpIf you need support in managing and expressing your anger, you’re not alone. Here are two ways to get professional help:Take anger management classes: These classes can help you learn how to express anger in healthy ways and how to control your aggressive impulses.Find a therapist: A therapist can help you identify the source of your anger and teach you healthier tactics for handling it. Browse our directory to find a licensed mental health professional near you.Sources1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7204505/2 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.915165/full/3 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/assertive/art-20044644/4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3019061/
5 Tips to Handle Stress
5 Tips to Handle Stress
It's true that life's stressful; that may have been the case back then, but nowadays it's gotten more hectic. Experts state that a little stress can be good; it keeps you sharp and ready to move forward, and is sometimes vital for achieving optimum performance.
However, medical research has determined that prolonged stress is very bad for the body, and can block the body’s natural ability to repair, regenerate and protect itself. Over 90% of disease is caused by stress. Stress is both a physical and psychological response. It can lead to chronic disease, obesity, insomnia, deteriorating relationships, depression, and more.
Stress is such a powerful and harmful force that it is vital that you learn effective stress management techniques to live a successful, happy, and healthy life. We must remember that we will always come across inevitable factors that cause pressure and anxiety on us. What we do not know is that it is not really the problems that are difficult to deal with, but our attitude towards them. So basically, the cause of stress is your attitude toward these things. What, then, is an effective way to deal with stressors?
Below are 5 great tips to handle stress.
1. Identify what makes you stressed and uneasy. Making a list of your stressful experiences is useful. Immediately deal with the issues that you can change, for instance waking up earlier for work in the morning, not leaving things till the last minute, and delegating tasks in case you are taking responsibility for everything. Forget about the issues that you cannot influence like being stuck in a traffic jam or not getting into the elevator because there is no room for you.
2. Calm down. A few minutes breaks would do you good. Wash your face, breath slowly and deeply, and notice if there is tension in any part of your body and release it. You can also listen to relaxing music, or call a friend. Releasing your inner feelings to a friend is a healthy option.
3. It will pass and it will be over before you know it. Remind yourself that the stressful event will end sooner or later and can make you see the positive sides of things. At the same time, calm down your emotions and think of what is the best thing to do rather than take your energy away from what needs to be done.
4. Know yourself. Ask yourself: What triggers your anxiety? If for example, it is your job, then maybe it's time for you to reconsider whether it would be best to find a less stressful job. You can also make your job more tolerable by allowing yourself to get that needed vacation or leave.
5. Learn to use your relaxation response. Just as we all have within us the stress response, we also have an opposite response, which is the relaxation response. A person should elicit that on a regular basis. The relaxation response involves two steps. Repetition, the repetition can be a word, a sound, an expression, or a repetitive movement. The second step is to ignore other thoughts that come to your mind while you’re doing the repetition and come back to the repetition. The technique should be used once or twice a day for about 15 minutes. Sit quietly and choose a suitable repetition, like a prayer, the sound of Om, or the word love, or calm. Or you can do a repetitive exercise, for instance, yoga, jogging, or Reiki. Additional repetitive activities are knitting or handicraft. When you incorporate this into your everyday life, you become calmer and better able to handle the stressors. Practice makes perfect and the more you practice and relax your mind, the easier it gets.
The true causes of stress are not the problems or negative experiences that you encounter in your life, but your attitude toward them. So, the trick is to change your attitude and develop a relaxed state, because you cannot be stressed and relaxed at the same time. It is important to understand that what we focus on, we energize. The more you continue to think about the factors that cause your stress, the more energy you give it. So it is vital to let go and focus on relaxation instead. Consequently, you’re less likely to be upset by a stressor, and thus less likely to have its harmful effect occur.
You have a choice in how you respond. You can keep responding negatively and causing yourself stress, or you can decide to change your attitude and become relaxed.