What is anger?

"Anger is "an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage," according to Charles Spielberger, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in the study of anger. Like other emotions, it is accompanied by physiological and biological changes; when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones, adrenaline, and noradrenaline.

Anger can be caused by both external and internal events. You could be angry at a specific person (Such as a coworker or supervisor) or event (a traffic jam, a canceled flight), or your anger could be caused by worrying or brooding about your personal problems. Memories of traumatic or enraging events can also trigger angry feelings."

Click here for further online information on the nature of anger and how to manage your angry feelings.

If you are having difficulting managing your own anger or other negative emotions, maybe it is time to call 1300 880 448 or make an appointment online for professional help from a registered psychologist. Medicare rebates are available for this service with a referral from your general practitioner.

Articles from Psyche-Care Blog on anger

Anger Management - Are you managing anger or is it managing you?

Emotions are there for a reason. In themselves they are not a bad thing. Even anger, depression or anxiety come about to give us some valuable information about our life, how we are living it and/or managing it. Emotion may be generated from an internal trigger through our own thoughts or externally by an event that happens. It may be a car cutting in front of us or something someone says, either deliberately or unintentionally. An emotion is our body’s response to how our brain receives and interprets a stimulus – from either within or from without us.

Read full article here.

When is anger a problem?

" Anger becomes a problem when it creates trouble for you with other people, your work, your health, day-to-day living or the law. Anger is also a problem when other people around you are frightened, hurt or feel they cannot talk to you or disagree with you in case you become angry. Some signs that anger is a problem are outlined here.

• Anger involves verbal, emotional, physical or psychological abuse.
• You feel angry a lot of the time.
• People close to you are worried about your anger.
• Anger is leading to problems with personal relationships and work.
• You think you have to get angry to get what you want.
• Anger seems to get bigger than the event that set it off.
• Anger lasts for a long time, and well after the triggering event has passed.
• Anger affects other situations not related to the original event.
• You are becoming anxious or depressed about your anger.
• You are using alcohol or other drugs to try to manage your anger.
• You are getting angry with the people who are closest to you, or with people who are less powerful than you, rather than dealing with the situation that sparked off your anger in the first place"

Read more: The Australian Psychological Society - Managing your anger

What is anger management?

"Anger management is about understanding your anger and why it happens. It is about learning and practising better ways of expressing anger, and knowing how to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Specifically, anger management is about knowing the triggers and early warning signs of anger, and learning techniques to calm down and manage the situation before it gets out of control."

Click here for more information on anger from Australian Psychological Society

Anger management - Taming the fury

Anger: Taming the Fury - ABC Health and Wellbeing, 24/9/2009 by Annabel McGilvray

"We all know anger. It manifests as anything from a toddler tantrum to a family feud and takes place anywhere from the office to the kitchen sink.

For most of us, anger rises and falls relatively quickly – disappearing altogether for long periods, before perhaps returning with momentary vengeance. But for some people, it's never far from the surface and can result in frequent physical and verbal outbursts that wreak untold havoc.

Media headlines regularly holler about out-of-control politicians and athletes letting their fury get the better of them. Then there are reports of high-profile people receiving counselling on how to put the not-so-friendly genie back in the bottle.

For these reasons, managing the anger that disrupts lives has become a small industry and researchers in Australia and around the world are employing everything from chilli sauce to magnetic resonance images (MRIs) to determine the mechanisms behind anger and, where necessary, how to control it.

So when does part of the normal emotional spectrum become a problem? And what can be done to stop it causing physical and emotional damage?"

To read more on the damaging effects of anger on health and relationships please click on the link above.

Make an appointment with Emily now to learn how to manage your anger successfully

   
or make an appointment now online