If anger is negatively impacting your quality of life, reducing stress levels might be part of the solution. Stress and anger are closely related. Anger management therapy can help you learn how to cope with both emotions more effectively.
Trying to control anger is a good start, but that’s only part of the problem. Better stress management leads to more balanced emotions overall and could naturally reduce feelings of anger. For more information about anger management, call Promises today at 844.875.5609.
How Do Stress and Anger Connect?
Stress and anger both relate to the brain’s fight, flight, or freeze response. When the brain perceives something as a threat, the automatic response kicks in and sends hormones rushing through the body. These hormones prepare people to fight or escape the danger. Others naturally respond by freezing and exhibiting signs of fear.
While they are different emotions, anger and stress can both be appropriate reactions to the same situation. On the surface, neither is harmful or negative. The problem lies in how an individual handles their emotions.
When mismanaged, anger and stress can affect a person’s physical and emotional health. For example, these emotions can cause the following issues:
- Increased risk of high blood pressure
- Increased risk of a heart attack
- Chronic pain
- High cortisol and high adrenaline levels
- Higher risk for depression and anxiety
- Higher risk for developing a substance use disorder
- Inadequate sleep
- Catastrophic thinking and rumination
Unmanaged anger or stress can also be destructive to someone’s personal and professional relationships.
Symptoms of Uncontrolled Anger
Anger can be a motivating emotion that encourages people to make positive changes in their lives. When it’s excessive or mismanaged, anger can be highly destructive. People who live in a state of chronic anger may not recognize that there is anything unusual about the way they feel or behave.
The following symptoms of anger issues may indicate that a person is dealing with excessive anger:
- Holding grudges and continuing to bring up old hurts
- Being verbally aggressive when angry by shouting, name-calling, arguing, etc.
- Being physically aggressive when angry by throwing objects, hitting people, etc.
- Exhibiting impulsive behavior and making snap decisions
- Feeling frequent or disproportionate feelings of irritation
- Experiencing physical symptoms like elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, and muscle tension
- Feeling out of control when angry
Mismanaged anger can also lead to self-isolation, especially after an angry outburst. Isolation is a factor in depression and can worsen other mental or physical symptoms.
Does Anger Management Help With Controlling Emotions?
Stress and anger are natural responses that everyone experiences. Completely eliminating these emotions is unrealistic, but learning new coping skills can help with controlling emotions.
For whatever reason, many people are taught to ignore or push down their anger, but that is counterproductive. Ignoring anger can lead to other problems. Learning to work through anger so it doesn’t snowball into a bigger problem is the answer.
Anger management therapy teaches coping techniques such as journaling, breathing exercises, and other mindfulness practices. The goal is to help individuals calm down when they feel themselves getting overstimulated.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or similar types of therapy may also be included in a treatment plan. CBT helps clients learn how to change the negative thinking patterns that lead to unwanted behaviors.
Call Promises Today for Anger Management Therapy
Chronic stress and anger can be symptoms of more serious mental health concerns and lead to other issues. If you or someone you know is constantly overwhelmed by stress or has difficulty controlling their anger, anger management therapy can help.
Promises offers a comprehensive anger management program to help clients improve their mental health and learn more productive ways to handle life’s difficult emotions. To learn more about our program, call Promises at 844.875.5609 or use our online contact form.