Anger is and has always been a very common issue. In 2020, it’s probably more of an issue than usual owing to the circumstances the world’s inhabitants must deal with.
The ubiquitous lockdowns have placed people in an unusual situation. Some restrictions forbid mixing socially at any time. This naturally causes tension between spouses and partners. It’s not natural to be cooped up together 24/7.
Mental health facilities have been inundated with calls on how to deal with these situations. Depression and anger are on the rise. Suicidal ideations are commonplace.
So, dealing with anger today needs urgent attention. Get to a mental health professional and get treated on an outpatient basis.
There are successful therapies that are targeted for anger management. These include cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is normally very successful, working on communication skills, working on triggers that cause anger, avoiding situations that will lead to explosive situations.
Intermittent explosive disorder
There is also a condition called an intermittent explosive disorder, which is usually accompanied by violence and extreme rage. This normally lasts for 30 minutes or so, and in that time, a great deal of damage can be caused. This will involve seeing a mental health professional regularly, and the condition can be brought under control after many therapeutic sessions.
This condition and most anger episodes result from traumatic events in childhood, abusive parents, frustration at the inability to change intolerable situations, bullying, and the list goes on.
There is anger that is common with most people, and that is road rage. Quick, sudden bursts of temper are natural reactions and not a cause for alarm if the anger doesn’t develop into psychotic episodes at the same time. If that happens, and you haven’t landed in jail, it’s time to see a therapist.
Head injuries cause anger. It is a medical condition, and for the person involved could be a sudden phenomenon that is as startling to the person as it is to those close to the person. This is the cause of many a marriage or partner break-up.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is needed in most anger cases, including the condition caused by an injury. The therapy will involve looking carefully at the situations which have triggered the anger. It will make the person aware of those triggers, and there will be an attempt to get those situations under control.
Working on anger issues
Usually, what happens is that the anger remains, but it is more controlled than before if a partner threatens to leave because of this condition, no matter how devastating it is to the other person. In this type of situation, the anger will be worked on more vociferously.
The therapy deals with the frustration involved in such circumstances as the person feels totally out of control and unable to control the anger.
Cognitive therapy is usually managed short-term, involving some 20 sessions or so, and has been incredibly successful. It examines every trigger and the acceptance of negative thought patterns.
This is particularly useful in injury cases as the impotence to change circumstances will remain. It is how the person deals with it and accepts that this is a condition that is unlikely to change that is the most important cog that will see that anger becoming less.
It is an acknowledgment that this condition exists. The clue now is working on preventing that situation from spiraling out of control and keeping the anger at bay. This can be done, but it also encompasses the person’s willingness to work on this issue.
Those triggers will more than likely still be there. It is a question of recognizing them for what they are and dealing with it internally before any venom is let loose. The trick is also to remain in therapy for as long as the patient feels necessary.