Anger Management Therapy in Las Vegas
Anger management is a term used to describe the skills you need to recognize that you, or someone else, is becoming angry and take appropriate action to deal with the situation in a positive way.
Every human has felt angry at one time or the other. Anger itself is not a problem. It only becomes an issue when it is expressed in unhealthy ways. If you let your anger get out of control, it can affect your personal and work relationships. No one wants to be around someone with an uncontrolled temper.
Knowing how to recognize and express these feelings in appropriate ways can help you handle emergencies, solve problems, and hold on to meaningful relationships.
WHAT IS ANGER?
Anger is a natural emotion expressed by every human, although sometimes unwanted and irrational. It is a common response to frustration, perceived threats, and criticism. It is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘wrath’ or ‘rage’. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical conditions, such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and increased levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline.
Anger becomes the predominant feeling behaviorally, cognitively, and physiologically when a person makes the conscious choice to take action to immediately stop the threatening behavior of another outside force.
Contrary to what people think about anger being a ‘Negative Emotion’, it can be a positive one that may spur you to stand up for someone or it may inspire you to create social change.
According to The Nation’s newspaper, almost 4 million Americans have anger control problems and are packing a gun. Hence, the need for individuals to checkmate their anger as often as possible.
Moreover, in a post by the Men’s Health, Las Vagas was ranked as the 97th city in America with the angriest people in 2011.
WHAT CAUSES ANGER?
Anger may be multi-causal as people rarely find only one cause for their anger. People feel angry when they sense that they or someone they care about has been offended when they are certain about the nature and cause of the angering event, when they are convinced someone else is responsible, and when they feel they can still influence the situation or cope with it.
There is a distinct difference between causes of anger and its triggers. The causes of anger refer to the source or reason for the anger. For example, self-judgment and self-rejection could be the underlying cause of anger.
Anger triggers, on the other hand, are what makes the anger happen very quickly especially a series of event.
There are many common triggers of anger. They include:
- Grief and/or sadness, loss of a family member, friend or other loved one.
- Feeling as if your opinion or efforts aren’t appreciated.
- Tiredness, since people may have shorter tempers and be more irritable when tired.
- Injustice: for example being bullied, humiliated or embarrassed, or being told that you, or a loved one, have a serious illness.
- Memories of traumatic or enraging events and worrying about personal problems.
- Sexual frustration.
- Money problems and the stress associated with debt.
- Some forms of stress, unrealistic deadlines and things beyond our immediate control such as being stuck in traffic.
- A feeling of failure or disappointment.
- Becoming angry as a result of taking drugs or alcohol, or when withdrawing from such substances.
- Having a crime committed against you or a loved one: theft, violence, sexual offenses but also more minor things such as a feeling of being treated inappropriately.
- Being either physical or mentally unwell, being in pain or living with a serious illness can lead to feeling angry.
TYPES OF ANGER
There are three types of anger which help shape how we react in a situation that makes us angry. These are Passive Aggression, Open Aggression, and Assertive Anger.
PASSIVE AGGRESSION
Many people when angry try to cover up and act like everything is fine. They refuse to admit that they are angry and express it in ways such as; sulking, procrastination, self-blame, obsessive behavior, secretive behavior, self-blame, giving silent treatment and evasiveness. This type of anger sometimes come from a need to be in control of the situation.
OPEN AGGRESSION
Unlike those with passive aggression, many people tend to lash out angry and become physically or verbally aggressive and hurt themselves and others. They express their anger in ways such as; fighting, bullying, blackmailing, accusing, shouting, bickering, sarcasm, and criticism. Open Aggression also comes from a need to be in control.
ASSERTIVE ANGER
This is usually referred to as the healthy form of anger. In this type, the angry person remains controlled and confident. He or she thinks before speaking, speaks with confidence to the other and yet open and flexible to the ‘other side’. It involves being patient; not raising your voice; communicating how you are feeling emotionally, and trying to understand what others are feeling.
When anger is dealt with this way, it shows that you are mature and care about your relationships and yourself.
“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh
ANGER MANAGEMENT: WHY YOU SHOULD CONTROL YOUR ANGER
Anger, when left unchecked, can lead to aggressive behaviors which could cause damage to lives and properties. It could also make you withdraw from the world and turn your anger inwards. Uncontrolled temper can affect you physically, mentally, and socially.
Some research suggests that inappropriately expressing anger such as keeping anger pent up — can be harmful to your health. Suppressing anger appears to make chronic pain worse while expressing anger reduces pain.
There’s also evidence that anger and hostility are linked with heart disease, high blood pressure, peptic ulcers, and stroke.
Anger causes a reduction in cognitive ability and the accurate processing of external stimuli. Anger can lead to psychological problems such as depression, reduced self-confidence, eating disorders, alcoholism, substance abuse, and self-injury.
Unchecked anger can make you ill. Some of the health problems that may occur as a result of being angry regularly or for long periods of time can include: Aches and pains, usually in the back and head, high blood pressure (which can, in severe cases, lead to serious complaints such as stroke or cardiac arrest.), sleep problems, problems with digestion, skin disorders, reduced threshold for pain, impaired immune system.
“Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.” ― Aristotle
ANGER MANAGEMENT: HOW TO CONTROL YOUR ANGER
Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully. Anger management programs consider anger to be a motivation caused by an identifiable reason which can be logically analyzed, and if suitable worked toward.
The best way to manage your anger is to create an anger management control plan. This helps you know what to do when you start feeling angry.
The anger management program involves the following strategies;
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
This involves trying to get a patient to open up about their emotions and feelings and being driven to accomplish a specific task (in this case controlling anger), a person is cognitively motivated to use positive skills towards their behavior. The use of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is frequent in anger management treatment.
Research consistently shows that cognitive-behavioral interventions are effective strategies for improving anger management. It’s based on the notion that your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all connected.
This strategy encourages you to shift away from thoughts and behaviors that fuel your anger.
ANGER JOURNALING
People who wrote down their negative emotions in an “anger diary” actually ended up improving their emotional understanding, which in turn led to less aggression. By seeing the reasons why they got angry, they can in the future try to avoid those actions or be prepared for the feeling they experience if they do find themselves doing something that typically results in them being angry.
Hence, the relevance of keeping an anger journal. There is no sufficient evidence for this but it is a common tool used in therapy.
RELAXATION THERAPY
Relaxation Therapy can reduce cognition and motivations to act out, and through relaxation, clients gain coping skills to better manage their anger. This therapy addresses various aspects of anger such as physiological, cognitive, behavioral, and social. These aspects combined are what make relaxation an effective treatment for anger.
Other anger management therapy includes Positive mentalization, personal development, and rational emotive therapy.
WHEN TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP
You should seek professional help if anger is having a long-term negative impact on your relationships, is making you unhappy, or is resulting in any dangerous or violent behavior.
There are many anger management techniques that you can learn and practice by yourself or teach to others. However, if you, or someone you know, experiences a lot of regular anger or very strong anger (rage) then seeking help, usually in the form of a counselor, can be more effective.
At Mentor Mental Minds, We have some of the best anger management therapists in Las Vegas and anger management support groups to help you overcome your anger issues.