Anger is a very powerful emotion that can stem from feelings of frustration, hurt, annoyance or disappointment. It is a normal human emotion that can range from slight irritation to strong rage.
Anger can be harmful or helpful, depending upon how it is expressed. Knowing how to recognize and express anger in appropriate ways can help people to reach goals, handle emergencies, and solve problems. However, problems can occur if people fail to recognize and understand their anger.
What are the dangers of suppressed anger?
Suppressed anger can be an underlying cause of anxiety and depression. Anger that is not appropriately expressed can disrupt relationships, affect thinking and behavior patterns, and create a variety of physical problems.
Chronic (long-term) anger has been linked to health issues such as high blood pressure, heart problems, headaches, skin disorders, and digestive problems. In addition, anger can be linked to problems such as crime, emotional and physical abuse, and other violent behavior.
How can I manage anger?
When you start feeling angry, try deep breathing, positive self-talk, or stopping your angry thoughts.
Breathe deeply from your diaphragm. Slowly repeat a calm word or phrase such as "relax" or "take it easy." Repeat it to yourself while breathing deeply until the anger subsides.
Although expressing anger is better than keeping it in, anger should be expressed in an appropriate way.
Frequent outbursts of anger are often counter-productive and cause problems in relationships with others.
Angry outbursts are also stressful to your nervous and cardiovascular systems and can make health problems worse.
Learning how to use assertiveness is the healthy way to express your feelings, needs, and preferences.
Being assertive can be used in place of using anger in these situations.
Seek out the support of others. Talk through your feelings and try to work on changing your behaviors.
If you have trouble realizing when you are having angry thoughts, keep a log of when you feel angry.
Try to gain a different perspective by putting yourself in another's place.
Learn how to laugh at yourself and see humor in situations.
Practice good listening skills. Listening can help improve communication and can facilitate trusting feelings between people. This trust can help you deal with potentially hostile emotions.
Learn to assert yourself, expressing your feelings calmly and directly without becoming defensive, hostile, or emotionally charged.
Consult self-help books on assertiveness or seek help from a professional therapist to learn how to use assertiveness and anger management skills.
What else can I deal with my anger in a healthy way?
If you believe that your anger is out of control and is having a negative affect on your life and relationships, seek the help of a mental health professional.
A psychologist or other licensed mental health professional can work with you to develop techniques for changing your thinking and your behavior.
A mental health professional can help you to deal with your anger in an appropriate way. Choose your therapist carefully and make sure to seek treatment from a professional who is trained to teach anger management and assertiveness skills.
Fears and facts about antidepressants
Along with counseling, antidepressants are a common part of treatment for depression. And they are usually effective.
Six out of 10 people treated with antidepressants feel better with the first one they try.
If the first antidepressant medication doesn’t help, the second or third often will. Most people eventually find one that works for them.
Yet many people who could benefit from an antidepressant never try one, often because of fears and misconceptions about them, experts say.
Here are eight common fears about antidepressants, as well as facts that can help you decide if an antidepressant might be right for you.
Fear: Antidepressants make you forget your problems rather than deal with them.
Fact: Antidepressants can’t make you forget your problems, but they may make it easier for you to deal with them.
Being depressed can distort your perception of your problems and sap you of the energy to address difficult issues.
Many therapists report that when their patients take antidepressants, it helps them make more progress in counseling.
Fear: Antidepressants change your personality or turn you into a zombie.
Fact: When administered correctly, antidepressants will not change your personality.
They will help you feel like yourself again and return to your previous level of functioning. (If a person who isn’t depressed takes antidepressants, they do not improve that person’s mood or functioning.)
Rarely, people experience apathy or loss of emotions while on certain antidepressants.
When this happens, switching to a different antidepressant may help.
Fear: Taking an antidepressant will make me gain weight.
Fact: Like all drugs, antidepressants have side effects, and weight gain can be a common one of many of them.
Some antidepressants may be more likely than others to cause weight gain; others may actually cause you to lose some weight. If this is a concern, talk with your doctor.
Fear: If I start taking antidepressants, I’ll have to take them for the rest of my life.
Fact: Most people who take antidepressants need to take them continuously for six to nine months – not necessarily a lifetime.
Once an antidepressant gets depression under control, you should work with your doctor to decide when to stop your medication and then decrease your dose gradually.
Discontinuing them suddenly may cause problems such as headaches, dizziness, and nausea.
Fear: Antidepressants will destroy my sex life.
Fact: Antidepressants can have an effect on sexual functioning. The problem is usually an inability to achieve orgasm rather than a lack of desire. But because depression itself decreases libido, a medication that eases depression may improve your sex life. As with other side effects, certain antidepressants may be more likely than others to cause sexual problems.
Fear: Antidepressants are expensive and aren’t covered by insurance.
Fact: Antidepressants are usually covered by insurance plans with prescription drug coverage. The cost of antidepressant therapy varies widely, depending on the dosage, the drug you are taking, and whether it is available as a generic.
Even without insurance coverage, it is possible to purchase a generic antidepressant for as little as $15 per month.
Fear: Taking an antidepressant is a sign of weakness.
Fact: Like medical conditions such as diabetes or high cholesterol, major depression is a condition that often responds to medication.
When depression interferes with your ability to function normally, seeking treatment is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of good self-care.
Fear: Antidepressants increase the risk of suicide.
Fact: Studies in recent years have raised concerns that antidepressants may raise the risk of suicide among children, adolescents, and young adults. For example, a 2009 review in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) analyzed 372 studies involving nearly 100,000 people who were taking antidepressants.
It found that compared to placebo, use of antidepressant drugs was associated with a small increased risk for suicidal thoughts in some children and young adults, have no effect on suicide risk among those 25 to 64, and reduce risk in those 65 and older.