Anger, a normal and innate emotion, emerges within every individual in suitable circumstances.
It is natural to experience feelings of anger in situations which you don’t agree with, when something seems deeply wrong or unfair, or when issues that you believe are important are not respected by others. However, anger can become a significant problem when it is expressed in unhelpful ways, is felt extremely often, or impacts on day-to-day living, causing problems in areas such as work, school, home or with the law.
Signs and symptoms
Problematic expressions of anger are often felt as frequent, intense emotions which can lead to physical aggression, verbal putdowns and often disrupt a person’s functioning.
Symptoms typically felt with anger include:
Increased heart rate (heart pounding)
Increase of stress hormones
Become hot or sweaty
Feeling out of control
Flushed face
Tightness in chest
Gritting your teeth
Increased volume of speech (yelling)
Increased rate of speech
Throwing things
Withdrawing and doing nothing
Storming out
Criticising others
Ignoring others
Physical violence
Every person will feel and express anger differently, an individual may display all of the above symptoms or any combination of the above symptoms and other symptoms not listed.
A crucial step in anger management is understanding your anger and why it happens. Understanding why you get angry in certain situations and not others, and how you express this anger is helpful towards developing strategies to cope more effectively with anger.
Read about triggers of anger, and techniques that can prevent angry outbursts.
Steps you can take
Talking to a psychologist can help you to learn different ways of expressing your anger.
Your psychologist will tailor treatment around your needs, specifically targeting the ways in which you feel and express anger that may not be helpful for you. From treatment you can expect to develop new skills to help manage your anger in a more productive way, be able to identify situations which may trigger your anger responses and ways to avoid or better manage these situations.
Contact us at Strategic Psychology by phone, email or by dropping by our office to arrange to see one of our experienced psychologists to assist you in better managing your anger. No referral is needed to make an appointment, however you can contact your GP to arrange for a Mental Health Plan referral (if eligible) to receive rebates under Medicare.
Match with a Psychologist
Start your journey with Strategic Psychology
Contact us at Strategic Psychology via phone, email or drop in to our office if you would like to make an appointment to see one of our psychologists. No referral is needed to access our services, however, you may be eligible for rebates under Medicare, in which case you will need to obtain a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP.