Anger is a powerful emotion that can be defined as a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. Anger is a natural emotion that everyone feels from time to time, and it is often a justifiable response when expressed in a healthy way. However, poor anger management can lead to a number of highly negative consequences to an individual and their loved ones, especially when addiction is involved.
Anger can be a double-edged sword. This emotion may precipitate your drug or alcohol use, You may abuse these substances as a way to temper the effects of this emotion and other stressful situations (self-medicating) or this emotion may arise from the drug use itself. As the substance abuse wreaks havoc on your life, you may become angry at yourself and feel responsible for the damage it’s incurring.
Anger can be a very overwhelming emotion, one that at times may seem to come out of nowhere, and when you’re overtaken by this emotion it can be very hard to think clearly and rationalize what it is that is happening, or how exactly, you go there. However, just as anger itself may be a trigger for substance abuse, anger has situations that may trigger or precipitate it. This may include people, places, or circumstances. For these reasons you need to be proactive and take steps to combat and control this damaging emotion before it pushes you to relapse.
What Is Anger Management?
Anger management techniques do not encourage a person to bottle up their feelings. Instead, they learn how to use anger as the healthy emotion that it is. It is how you express that emotion that often needs to change for the betterment of all involved. People cope with anger in different ways. What’s important for anyone but vital for someone recovering from addiction is to cope with that anger in healthy ways before it can lead to negative consequences. One way to alleviate anger is to give yourself time to get your emotions under control by temporarily removing yourself from the situation that has made you angry. When attempting to process a situation or problem that has made you angry, take a walk, practice a breathing exercise or go to the gym if you have time. The key is to cope with the situation from a place of calm.
Other ways to manage emotions include working on an anger management strategy with a therapist, talking things over with friends or a supportive family member, writing down your thoughts, practicing meditation and looking for positive solutions to the issue that has angered you. Effective anger management takes practice. If you feel that anger is getting the better of you, it’s important to contact your counselor or therapist for support. You don’t have to let negative emotions like anger cause you to relapse. Through effective anger management, you can continue to ward off relapse and protect your commitment to sober living.
For those who suffer from this issue, but in a more moderate sense, there are several steps you can take when your emotions overcome you and you feel the urge to be angry. The more you practice these things, the greater control you will learn to have over your emotions.
- A Repetitive Focus
- Relax
- Distract Yourself
- Replace It With A Different Emotion Or Experience
These practices may help someone with more severe anger as well, in fact, many of them may be something a therapist encourages you to integrate into your life. It can be beneficial for those that suffer from more severe forms of anger to go beyond these self-help practices and seek the assistance of someone trained in behavioral health.
Seeking Help Through Therapy For Your Anger Issues
Several anger management techniques help a person learn to recognize and control their outbursts and angry reactions. Often, in these sessions, a person will work with a counselor to discuss what factors lead to anger development and why that may be. They may learn how to apply specific skills to control anger, such as learning to catch the early warning signs of a trigger. They will learn to identify situations that bring on anger and how to manage them through changing thought processes.
At Oak Forest Recovery, we offer anger management therapy to those experiencing challenges in life. Some may have turned to drug and alcohol use to manage these feelings. We can help with this type of addiction as well. Treatment for anger is effective at helping a person to be heard more effectively. To get anger management help, call our team now at 1-888-597-6257 or fill up the below form and we will get back to you shortly.
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