Anger Management
Of the many fundamental emotions, anger serves a valuable purpose in our lives. It allows us to express the need for some type of change, and in many cases, it acts as the impetus that will help us take the necessary steps to effect such change. Anger is also an important way for us to say there is something that is extremely wrong and unjust happening to me. But all too often the improper use of this emotion is the end result. It may be misdirected, excessive, applied at the wrong time or used for other reasons whose outcome is usually unhealthy and maladaptive. Although anger management is ultimately a matter of self-control, many of us need objective, expert guidance to successfully manage this powerful emotion whenever its improper use has become a concern in our lives.
There are common symptoms of individuals that cannot control their anger. These are: you feel powerless when starting to feel angry; there is regret after an outburst, you lose relationships due to your behavior, the trigger or reason that incites the behavior is not proportionate to the cause, and you exhibit this behavior on a regular basis. Additionally and more importantly, the behavior of having an outburst and then apologizing can frequently be cyclical in that you repeat this behavior on a regular basis with a consistent intensifying responses. It is very important to seek anger management help before you continue to lose relationships and feel an escalating sense of guilt or remorse. Additionally, behavior patterns and their associated cognitive patterns are notoriously difficult to reverse when they have reached this level and so beginning the process of anger management therapy is crucial at an early stage.
Anger management therapy involves several key stages. They are: identifying what are commonly called “triggers” and their associated cognitive, physical, and emotional responses, establishing behavioral control techniques when these arise, exploring effective communication skills so the bottling up of emotions does not persist, and finding ways to ameliorate or even repair relationships that have been lost or are on their way to be broken. Additionally, psychodynamic work is pivotal to access the underlying reasons this behavior became common with you. If you are experiencing difficulty dealing with your response to anger, contact a 360 Therapist. We’re here to help.