Anger

[surviving_it_all]

Sometimes, I feel PTSD symptom free. This week was relatively good. Today, I had anxiety, but the anxiety was very present. This felt like a big move in the positive direction. Anxiety from the present not about the past or not confounded to the past.

Tonight, I am having an outburst of anger. I took it out on someone that cares for me the most. I am so angry. I know this is a symptom of PTSD. I don't know how to control it. I get so very angry. This can't be good to have this much anger. Its not just one thing. Its everything. I don't even know where the anger came from. It just came. I don't like this. I am blaming people and situations that aren't at fault. I am mad just to be mad. I don't even know where it came from. I can apologize, but what is done is done. To hurt someone is something you can't take back.

How do others deal with this overwhelming anger? I don't mean to have this much anger. Its hard for me to express my anger sometimes. There has to be a balance. I don't want to feel this way. I don't know where the anger came from. I need a way to quickly recognize an outburst of PTSD anger. I refuse to be an abusive person to the people around me.

 

[LhasaLover]

Hi Surviving_it_all,

There are several ways to cope with the anger, which is anger management classes as well as exercising and physical activities. Meditation also helps us come to touch with what is going on inside our mind.

Do you have a therapist? I have found working with my therapist gives me the tools to understand myself and my feelings. For me, psychotherapy has allowed me the "luxury" of feeling a range of emotions and learn how to utilize them.

If you have trauma, EMDR therapy can help as well!

Good for you for wanting to stop the cycle of anger. There's so much help out there luckily and it is so frustrating when you have PTSD and symptoms keep popping up. I go through different emotions, but they are highly unpleasant!

So good to see your post. Keep us updated!!

Take good care of yourself,

LL

 

[Mark JT]

Gday surviving_it_all, what I am doing to control my anger is running every morning which sets up my day. I don't listen to music whilst running rather than just take in the sights around me, feeling my feet on the ground, the wind on my face and the feel of my body working. This is super soothing for me.

When I feel anger building up, I remove myself from the situation, what ever it may be and listen to some breathing exercises i have on my phone (got them from the apple app store - one from Australian Government which is a direct replica of the USA Government one). I feel that once I have done these breathing exercises, my anxiety has significantly decreased and then I resume what ever I was doing.

I am very fortunate that I have a very understanding wife who supports me no end so I am hoping that you also have support.

Good luck with it all.

Mark.

 

[Gamereign555]

I have two things that help me with anger from anxiety. One thing you can do is a breathing exercise. I get in a relaxing position and lay my arm across my abdomen. Then I slow my breathing and then close my eyes. I count from 1 to 6 as I inhale through my nose slowly, and sticking my lips out a little and touching my tongue to the roof of my mouth exhale through my mouth slowly at the same rate counting from 6 to 1. Concentrate on something constant and in the background, such as the wind blowing against trees, or an air conditioner. Clear your mind of anything but relaxing your muscles and the sounds of the background.

If you set a timer and do this, after you open your eyes at 3 or 4 mins., you will feel a deep sense of relaxation. The effects are very profound. Though more effective if a therapist hosts the breathing session at first, we can all practice this method ourselves many times a day. The best thing is that it is free. Kind of like laughing and smiling.

There is a homeopathic supplement I take called 'Gaba', which I find very effective for my anger. It calms me right down. Often taking the anxiety down with it as a result. Though relying on Gaba alone for all anxiety is dicey, it does work wonders for anger. It can be taken right as you feel that angst feeling or just once a day as a regular supplement.

 

[WillyKat]

I have such moments frequently since I stopped my meds about a year and a half ago. For me, certain triggers make me angry, like someone over my shoulder or being criticized for something tiny.

I'm getting better at identifying a trigger as just a trigger and letting it pass. But it doesn't always work.

 

[Gamereign555]

I tried lowering my Klonapin intake just a little today and it has been very difficult for me. It is hard for me to take my own advice, perhaps tomorrow I will try. I was just so easily triggered to anger today.

 

[surviving_it_all]

I really am angry. After having posted this, I realize that I really am truly angry. Perhaps, the anger is a bit too strong. Underneath the PTSD anger, there is real true healthy anger that I need to express to the person I am angry at in a healthy way. I feel justified with my true anger that has real strong reasons. I have to find the right words and convey it in a healthy way for it not to be a total fit of PTSD. There are real reasons that I have to be really angry.

 

[WillyKat]

Underneath the PTSD anger, there is real true healthy anger that I need to express to the person I am angry at in a healthy way. I feel justified with my true anger that has real strong reasons. I have to find the right words and convey it in a healthy way for it not to be a total fit of PTSD. There are real reasons that I have to be really angry.

Now that kind of legitimate, thoughtful, anger is OK. It reflects a desire for justice. It's only a problem when it has no target and just splashes out on anyone that happens to be near. Confrontation of those who have done wrong -- I can support that.

 

[who am i kim]

My anger just bursts out. But what I did not realize is that underneath the surface were issues that needed attending to. They where hidden buried, well I did not see them below the anger. They were fueling the anger until it could not contain itself any more. Being aware of what is causing the angry is a step in the right direction.

I have learned to step away from confrontation, well I try to.

I would like some justice for the wrongs done to me, but it is never going to happen. Yes I get angry at the world and lash out but hurt innocent people really.

 

[99Phoenix99]

For me the hardest part was/still is just allowing myself to be angry. For years I had suppressed my anger and it's taken me a long time to admit that it's ok to be angry. That I'm allowed to be angry is still a novel concept to me.

But when I'm feeling especially spiteful I use it to fuel me to do something. Because despite how much I wish it, I can't change the past. I can't get back what I lost. That's one of the hardest things I've had to stomach. It's what I'm still struggling with. When I'm aware of my anger I repeat to myself "I can't change the past. But I can change NOW." That generally leads me to working out until I'm exhausted or going on a car drive blaring music until I calm down. And the constant underlying anger pushes me to try to make my life better so that the past doesn't repeat ever again.

It's a work in progress. It'll always be, but I'm slowly looking towards the future and what I can fix.

 

[Thea]

But when I'm feeling especially spiteful

Spiteful is the best way to describe my current anger. I hate myself for feeling it. Also for allowing myself to indulge when I express it. In the past I was often too forthright but not spiteful. Any suggestions about this new facet appreciated.