All About Anger and How to Manage it with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What is Anger?

Anger is a normal human emotion that we can all feel at some point in our lives and in most cases it does not cause any harm.

However, you may be unable to control your anger or become angry at seemingly trivial situations, and this is when it can become problematic.

You may feel angry when:

• You feel powerless to decide things for yourself.
• You are being treated unfairly or badly.
• You are being threatened.
• You are not being respected.
• You feel misunderstood.

You may vent your anger in one of two ways, either

1. Outwardly onto other people or external situations, or
2. Inwardly onto yourself as a form of self-blame.

Whilst venting your feelings onto other people is clearly destructive, being angry with yourself may be no less harmful.

Uncontrolled Anger

People who have anger problems may find that they experience angry feelings with increasing frequency and begin to lose control over their reactions to what might otherwise be “normal” events.

If it does get out of control it can often lead to serious problems with family, friends, colleagues and sometimes create conflict with the Law, especially if anger spills over into violent behaviour.

Mental health surveys suggest that a third of adults are aware that they can often experience “unexpected anger” and just as many know someone who has a problem keeping calm.

Anger Symptoms

Uncontrolled anger has been shown to be linked with the following conditions:

• Physical changes: When you feel angry, your body may experience physical changes such as a rapid heartbeat, sweating, shaking, and tense muscles.
• Behavioural changes: You may find yourself behaving differently when you’re angry, such as speaking loudly or aggressively, clenching your fists, pacing back and forth, or slamming doors.
• Emotional changes: Anger can cause a range of emotions such as frustration, irritation, annoyance, and resentment. You may also experience a sense of injustice or unfairness.
• Cognitive changes: When you’re angry, you may have trouble thinking clearly, have difficulty making decisions, and may be more impulsive.
• Social changes: Anger can also affect your relationships and social interactions. You may become isolated, withdraw from others, or become confrontational with those around you.

Suppressed or bottled-up Anger could lead to the following:

• Self-harming
• Alcohol and drink-related problems
• Drug abuse
• Low self-esteem
• Low self-confidence

Each of the above problems can have serious consequences on the quality of your life so it’s important to tackle any anger management problems you have sooner rather than later.

Therapy & Counselling for Anger Management Problems

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for anger management problems.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had the problem.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your problem is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for anger on the following links:

• CBT for Anger
• Counselling for Anger problems
• Pluralistic Therapy for Anger

Although all therapies use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Research suggests that this therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

The Behaviour Change Framework

All of our anger management sessions and programmes use the Behaviour Change Framework (BCF).

This scientifically proven protocol defines the stages of behaviour change that you need to go through in order to achieve long lasting and sustainable change.

The framework provides a roadmap that indicates if more change is required before entering the next phase of mental health therapy.

In this way, we are able to ensure that you get the best possible level of support in overcoming your mental health problems as well preventing early termination of therapy.

You can read more about the Science of Change here.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming anger management problems or recovering from any of your mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.