Everyone experiences feelings of anger or irritability, but people with bipolar disorder are especially prone to these feelings and the adverse effects of anger. In fact, sudden feelings of anger or irritability are key symptoms of mania. Inappropriate anger attacks occur in up to 60 percent of people with bipolar disorder . Moreover, up to 40 percent of people with bipolar disorder reported feelings of abnormal irritability, which is defined as feelings of excitability or annoyance. However, anger and irritability can also be part of depression, and sometimes the most prominent aspect of depression, at least as experienced by the people around someone with bipolar disorder.
When you live with bipolar disorder yourself, you know the experience when your mood shifts and disrupts your normal life activities. These swings may be mild or severe, but for many people, the symptoms of mania may include excessive irritation or aggressive behavior, and depressive symptoms can include irritability, agitation, and anger. Also, during manic or depressive episodes, you may have developed negative thought patterns and beliefs that everything is bad. This habit of viewing things negatively may predispose you to becoming angry more easily than at times when you can see the world from a positive perspective.
WHAT IS ANGER?
Anger is natural and even a necessary emotion for survival, but it can be destructive when expressed inappropriately. Like an alarm, anger tells you something is wrong with a situation. In general, what causes anger?
* Stress—when faced with health, money, work, or personal problems
* Life events—when remembering bad things that have happened to you
* Frustration—when not in control of a situation or when overwhelmed by tasks
* Fear—when feeling that a relationship or a job may not work out
* Resentment—when feeling hurt, rejected, or oppressed
* Disappointment—when expectations aren’t met
Anger is natural and even a necessary emotion for survival, but it can be destructive when expressed inappropriately. Like an alarm, anger tells you something is wrong with a situation. In general, what causes anger?
* Stress—when faced with health, money, work, or personal problems
* Life events—when remembering bad things that have happened to you
* Frustration—when not in control of a situation or when overwhelmed by tasks
* Fear—when feeling that a relationship or a job may not work out
* Resentment—when feeling hurt, rejected, or oppressed
* Disappointment—when expectations aren’t met
Anger has three components that can be described as psychological, biological or physiological, and cognitive (Mayo Clinic 2007):
* Psychological anger refers to your feelings, which can vary in intensity from mild frustration and disappointment to sadness to intense rage.
* Biological or physiological anger refers to the body’s responses, when your heart rate or blood pressure rises or your muscles tense.
* Cognitive anger refers to your thoughts while you’re angry, such as believing that you’re justified to be angry or thinking that no one listens to you.
* Psychological anger refers to your feelings, which can vary in intensity from mild frustration and disappointment to sadness to intense rage.
* Biological or physiological anger refers to the body’s responses, when your heart rate or blood pressure rises or your muscles tense.
* Cognitive anger refers to your thoughts while you’re angry, such as believing that you’re justified to be angry or thinking that no one listens to you.
ANGER TRIGGERS
It is important to be aware of your feelings of anger and to identify when expressions of anger are unhealthy. Have you ever slammed your office door when you were frustrated at work? Have you ever yelled at the clerk in a store or a pharmacist on the phone when the person couldn’t help you fast enough? These ways of managing anger are not only ineffective, but may also lead to personal or legal problems. Anyone’s past life history can contribute to the way they react or overreact to situations. For instance, people who have been ridiculed, neglected, or victimized in the past may have built up negative feelings over time based on these events. Sometimes it is not the person or the event in the present that makes you feel angry, but it’s your way of thinking—based on your past personal experiences—that creates these angry feelings. By becoming aware of and avoiding potential triggers, you are less likely to experience the intensity of the conflict.
It is important to be aware of your feelings of anger and to identify when expressions of anger are unhealthy. Have you ever slammed your office door when you were frustrated at work? Have you ever yelled at the clerk in a store or a pharmacist on the phone when the person couldn’t help you fast enough? These ways of managing anger are not only ineffective, but may also lead to personal or legal problems. Anyone’s past life history can contribute to the way they react or overreact to situations. For instance, people who have been ridiculed, neglected, or victimized in the past may have built up negative feelings over time based on these events. Sometimes it is not the person or the event in the present that makes you feel angry, but it’s your way of thinking—based on your past personal experiences—that creates these angry feelings. By becoming aware of and avoiding potential triggers, you are less likely to experience the intensity of the conflict.
PERSONAL TRIGGERS
There are triggers that automatically spark certain symptoms of mania, but they also exist for anger and irritability, whether or not you have manic symptoms. Triggers for anger can lead to anger, and an angry response can lead to the other person’s angry response, which can itself be a new trigger and can escalate a situation quickly. Often this scenario involves circumstances where you believe you’ve been treated unfairly or your expectations have not been met.
There are triggers that automatically spark certain symptoms of mania, but they also exist for anger and irritability, whether or not you have manic symptoms. Triggers for anger can lead to anger, and an angry response can lead to the other person’s angry response, which can itself be a new trigger and can escalate a situation quickly. Often this scenario involves circumstances where you believe you’ve been treated unfairly or your expectations have not been met.
source: selfgrowth.com
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