Do I Need Anger Management Therapy?
Everyone gets angry. While it is unhealthy to bottle these feelings up inside of yourself, not everyone knows how to release their anger in a productive and controlled manner. Without control, your anger can get you into real trouble. If you frequently find yourself dealing with the consequences of your anger, you may need anger management therapy.
Having anger or releasing it is not necessarily an indication of an anger management problem. Unhealthy anger includes occurrences of rage, passive aggression, verbal abuse, physical abuse or resentment. When anger displays become unhealthy and cause problems in your life, it is important to note these signs of a problem and take the necessary steps toward solutions.
Below are some of the most common signs that anger management therapy could help you or someone you love.
Passive Aggression
Passive aggressiveness is just as damaging as physical or verbal abuse. But unlike those more outward displays of emotion, passive aggression involves acting uninterested, being mean or expressing sarcasm. Many people who use passive aggressiveness do not even realize they do so. But anger management therapy can help them identify their negative behaviors related to anger and overcome them.
Blame
Blaming others is a common but inappropriate cause of anger. But anger actually stems from your interpretation of things in your life, not what actually occurs. Blaming others for things that happen to you leaves you stuck in these negative emotions.
It also leaves no room for improvement of the situations or circumstances that make you angry. Frequently blaming others is a good sign that you need anger management therapy.
Frequent Bouts of Anger
Do you find yourself getting angry frequently? This up-and-down sequence of emotions is not healthy for anyone. Frequent anger can damage you physically and emotionally.
It also damages your relationships. If you get angry often, anger management therapy can certainly help.
Aggression
Feeling anger is normal from time-to-time. But transitioning from feeling anger to expressing your feelings through road rage or other harsh means is dangerous. If you punch walls, curse out loved ones, physically abuse others or cause other physical damage because of your anger, you have a clear problem with anger control and aggression. Although you can feel helpless to your aggression or that of someone you love, anger management therapy can change these behaviors.
Holding a Grudge
Do your angry bouts last a long time? Do you hold a grudge for hours or even days? When anger does not subside for a long time, this is a sign of an anger management problem.
Holding onto angry feelings for so long is physically taxing and can leave you feeling drained, too. But you can learn how to cope with your anger in healthy ways and resolve your feelings more quickly through therapy.
Out of Control
When you feel angry, do these feelings go from “0 to 60” right away? Do you tend to have a meltdown over even the slightest issue? If you overreact to situations and commonly hear from others that your anger is “out of control,” you have an anger management problem. Therapy will help.
Admitting You Need Help Is the First Step
Admitting you have an anger problem is the first step in getting the help you need for healthier emotional balance. After all, there is no reason to suffer the physical stress, mental stress, abusive cycles, relationship problems, work problems or other issues related to uncontrolled anger. It is easy to learn new ways to cope with your anger and even how to avoid feeling these strong negative emotions, in the first place.
Reframe Counseling Services provides anger management therapy and a full spectrum of therapy services for anxiety, depression, substance abuse and other conditions. We serve the Raleigh, Cary, Holly Springs, Apex and Fuquay-Varina, NC area. Call us at (984) 225-2777 today to schedule your first visit
