Mental Wellness: Understanding Anger

Anger, on its own, is not a sign of emotional problems. What bears watching are the various expressions of that anger. For example, you want to monitor things like frequency, intensity, and duration. Or, even more importantly, what do you DO when you’re angry? Are you lashing out at others physically or verbally?But what happens for those who aren’t always able to identify their anger? They know they’re feeling something in a big way. However, this big feeling can manifest in a way that seems like fear, anxiety, sorrow, or many other emotions.To help you along with this process, it’s important to both understand more about anger and to recognize its physical signs.

Understanding Anger

In our culture, anger has come to have a lot of negative connotations. But anger is an emotion, it’s neither good nor bad. What matters is what you do with it. For instance, righteous anger about injustice helped transform American society for the better during the Civil Rights Movement. But anger can also be deployed in less useful ways. It can also lead you to act aggressively and/or in an anti-social manner. This can lead to problems at work and in relationships.  Anger may also serve as a red flag that some other foundational problem is lurking below the surface.  If you’re struggling with angry feelings in your life, it’s important to parse out the underlying causes of that anger. Are you struggling with feelings of shame? Sadness? Unresolved grief? Particularly for males, anger can be the way other more vulnerable emotions are expressed. For some people, they may be feeling anger and expressing it but they have difficulty even recognizing anger is the emotion they’re experiencing. This is because somewhere along the way they learned that it’s not okay to express anger.  However, it is essential to learn to recognize that you are experiencing anger, whether you’re a person who’s suppressing or having trouble controlling your anger.  Recognizing physical signs is the first step to changing how you deal with it. . 

Physical Signs of Anger

 As anger rises, you may recognize common signs like irritation, a desire to leave a situation, guilt, loss of focus, and/or hyper-focus on the source of your anger. But what physical signs should you be on the lookout for?

Noticeable Physical Signs of Anger

  • Achy pain (usually headache or stomach ache)
  • Increase in perspiration, especially in your palms
  • A sense of heat in your face or neck
  • Clenched jaw
  • Grinding your teeth
  • Increased heart rate
  • Sudden and extreme shaking, especially your hands
  • Raising your voice

Subtle Physical Signs of Anger

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  • Your language may get sarcastic, abusive, or appear deadly serious
  • Pacing
  • Clenched and unclenching your fists
  • Rubbing your head
  • Cravings for food or substances that normally calm and relax you

It goes without saying that individuals will display different signs and variations of signs. What is most crucial is that each of us becomes aware — in advance of crises — of our own physical expressions of anger. Recognizing a potential escalation can be a powerful skill in keeping you out of dangerous or self-sabotaging situations.

What is Anger Management?

If anger is impacting your relationships, your health, your career, and your life, help is available. Treatment options for anger issues may include:

  • Therapy
  • Support groups
  • Anger management exercises and relaxation techniques you can perform at home
  • Medications

These are all potential components for what is deemed “anger management.” While medications can have their place if you’ve been diagnosed with an underlying condition, behavioral therapies are usually the standard choice because they help you explore underlying causes of your anger and learn how to manage it more constructively. 

Prevention, Causes, Management

If anger is negatively impacting your life, the top priority may be reining in its power in the here and now.  Anger is often a secondary emotion. In other words, it is the avenue by which you express something else. That “something else” could be depression, guilt, shame, or anxiety. Seeking therapy for difficulties with anger can be really helpful.   A trained therapist can help you  manage the short-term outbursts and the long-term, underlying causes.Chanderbhan Psychological ServicesAbout: Chanderbhan Psychological Services is a therapy practice located in Laredo, Texas. We help individuals and couples who are struggling in different areas of their lives gain the clarity they need to grow and change. We also offer vieo counseling services to individuals located in the wider State of Texas. To read blogs on mental health and relationships, visit our website

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