Anger Issues: A Warning Sign?

Feelings of violence or anger acting out can be identified with various hidden challenges, including anxiety, depression, addiction, and other mental health issues. Many people can have underlying challenges with shallow confidence, as well as issues with mistrust. Some people may likewise have a history marked by past sexual, physical, or psychological abuse. There might be many interlocking features that have made someone to develop anger problems.

While it is essential that anger, among other emotions, does not get suppressed, maintain control over your anger is key to maintain calm, and guarantees that outward expressions of anger do not adversely affect your relationships. The emotion of anger is wholly natural, and it is reasonable to feel furious when you have been mistreated or wronged. Regardless of whether these reactions bring about outbursts, what’s important about anger boils down to how it’s managed. First and foremost, anger becomes dangerous when it brings about harm to you or others. Anger issues can lead to broken relationships, loss of a job, and criminal convictions.

Teenage Anger Issues

The adolescent years are difficult for both you as the parent and your teenager. It tends to be a befuddling time of seething hormones, disturbance, and difficult questions. Sadly, there is no ideal guide you can use to help your teenager navigate this time, and numerous parents end up at a loss. A crisis for your teenager might be different than for another teenager.

Although it might feel as though you don’t know your kid anymore, they are still the kids you have raised, and you know them better than anybody else. Do not let your teenager tell you differently. Your teenager may be dealing with anxiety or depression, considering suicide, having psychological health issues, be abusing alcohol or drugs, or a combination of the abovementioned.

How Do I Know My Teen Is in Crisis and Not Just Being A Teen?

This is a very normal concern among parents and a legitimate one. There are many different signs and symptoms of crisis among teenagers. Some of the time, it is difficult to differentiate between typical teen behavior, which is often flighty and feels anything other than ordinary, and behavior that should raise serious worries. The best dependable guideline to remember when you are worried about your teen is the extreme and prolonged display of the accompanying symptoms.

• Irritability, anger or hostility
• Warning Signs of Depression or Mental Health Issues
• Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits
• Suddenly replacing old friends with a new group
• Persistent sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, and guilt
• Sudden withdrawal from family and friends
• Persistent difficulty concentrating
• Lack of motivation and enthusiasm together with fatigue and poor energy
• Sudden lack of interest in activities
• Talking about or joking about committing suicide or dying
• Speaking positively about death or romanticizing dying
• Dramatic swings in school performance

Many of the red flags mentioned above are normal to spring up so often over the span of a child going throughout their adolescence. With hormones causing emotions to swing fiercely back and forth, it’s a confusing and often unnerving time for teenagers. As mentioned previously, you know your kid better than anyone else. If you notice any of the signs above, you shouldn’t hesitate to do some serious investigating.

There may be perfectly justifiable reasons behind your teenager’s sudden change in friends. Starting a new sport may bring a new group of kids into your teenager’s world, which could be positive or negative. Keep in mind that your teenager is presumably as frustrated and confounded by everything that is going on as you are. You have the chance to be the adoring, steady rock in their life when nothing else is. Do not be afraid to ask them questions in a caring and calm way. Take time out to be involved in their lives.

What Causes Anger Issues?

Numerous things can trigger anger, including family issues, stress, and money related issues. For certain individuals, anger is brought about by an underlying issue; for example, depression and alcoholism. Anger itself is not viewed as a disorder; however anger is a known indication of several psychological or behavioral health conditions. The followings are some of the potential causes of anger issues.

Depression

Anger can be a symptom of depression, which is described as continuous feelings of sadness and loss of enthusiasm lasting at least two weeks. Anger can be smothered or obviously expressed. The intensity of the anger and how it is expressed differs from individual to individual. If you are depressed, you may experience other symptoms like:

• loss of energy
• irritability
• thoughts of suicide or self-harm
• feelings of hopelessness

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive compulsion disorder (OCD) is an anxiety issue that is described by fanatical thoughts and enthusiastic behavior. An individual with OCD has undesirable, upsetting thoughts, desires, or pictures that drive them to do something repeatedly. For instance, they may perform certain rituals like counting to a number or repeating a phrase or word, because of an unreasonable belief that something terrible will happen if they do not do it occur.

A 2011 study carried out by Trusted Source found that anger is a typical symptom of OCD. It affects around half of the individuals with OCD. Anger may result from disappointment with your failure to prevent obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, or from having a person or thing meddle with your ability to carry out a custom.

Alcohol Abuse

Research shows that drinking alcohol increases aggression. Anger is a contributing element in around half of all violent crimes committed in the USA. Alcohol abuse, or alcoholism, refers to consuming too much alcohol at once or consistently. Alcohol debilitate your capacity to think clearly and make sound decisions. It influences your impulse control and can make it harder for you to control your feelings.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder set apart by symptoms like obliviousness, hyperactivity, as well as impulsivity. Symptoms usually start in early childhood and proceed all through a person’s life. Some people are not diagnosed until adulthood, which is sometimes referred to as adult ADHD. Anger and irritability can likewise happen in people of all ages with ADHD. Other symptoms are:

1. problems focusing
2. restlessness
3. Oppositional defiant disorder
4. poor time management or planning skills

Oppositional disobedient disorder (ODD)

Oppositional disobedient disorder (ODD) is a behavioral issue that affects 1 to 16 percent of teenagers. Typical symptoms of ODD include:

1. hot temper
2. anger
3. irritability
4. Kids with ODD are often easily irritated by others. They might be disobedient and contentious.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that causes emotional shifts in your state of mind. These intense mood swings can range from depression to mania, although not everybody with bipolar disorder will experience depression. Many individuals with bipolar disorder may experience times of anger, rage, and irritability. During a manic period, the individual may:

1. feel euphoric
2. be easily agitated
3. have racing thoughts
4. engage in impulsive or reckless behavior

During a depressive period, you may:

1. feel hopeless, sad, or tearful
2. lose enthusiasm in things once enjoyed
3. have suicidal thoughts

Intermittent Explosive Disorder

An individual with the intermittent explosive disorder (IED) has repeated episodes of impulsive, aggressive, or violent behavior. They may blow up to situations with angry outbursts that are out of proportion to the situation.

Episodes that last less than 30 minutes and come on without notice. Individuals with the disorder may feel angry and irritable more often than not.

Some typical behaviors include:

• arguments
• temper tantrums
• physical violence
• throwing things
• fighting
• People with IED may feel embarrassed or remorseful after an episode.

Grief

Anger is one of the phases of grief. Grief can come from the death of a friend or family member, a breakup or divorce, or from losing employment. The anger may be aimed at the person who died, any other person associated with the event, or lifeless things.

Other symptoms of grief include:

1. numbness
2. shock
3. sadness
4. guilt
5. fear
6. loneliness

Types of Anger Issues

Anger can show itself in various manners. Not all anger is communicated similarly. Anger and aggression can be inward, outward, or passive.

• This includes communicating your aggression and anger in an obvious way. This can incorporate behaviors such as cursing, shouting, breaking or throwing things, or being physically or verbally abusive toward others.
• This sort of anger is aimed at yourself. It includes negative self-talk, denying yourself things that make you happy or even essential needs, such as food or clothing. Self-harm and secluding yourself from people are other ways anger can be directed inward.
• This includes utilizing unpretentious and circuitous approaches to communicate your anger. Instances of this passive-aggressive behavior incorporate giving somebody the silent treatment, sulking, being wry, and making rude remarks.

Treatment for Teenage Anger Issues

Extreme anger in teenagers can become unimaginably dangerous. A teen risks exacting harm on themselves, their families, their companions, and even outsiders when they act out in anger. It is essential to look for treatment for a teenager suffering from anger problems.

An effective treatment option for angry teenagers is a residential treatment facility. Our residential treatment facility is equipped with a wilderness component for teenagers suffering from anger issues. As angry teens tend to isolate themselves, their grades will be in general plunge. As a parent, it is terrifying to consider having to decide between seeking treatment for your child and them completing their education. At our residential facility, you do not need to make that decision!

Connect with Your Troubled Teen

It might appear to be difficult to accept—given your kid’s anger or detachment towards you—but teenagers despite everything desire love, approval, and acknowledgment from their parents. Positive up close and personal relationships are the fastest, most proficient approach to decrease stress by focusing and calming the nervous system. That implies that you most likely have much more impact over your teenager than you think.

To open the lines of communication:

• Know about your own stress levels. If you are upset or angry, now isn’t the time to try to communicate with your teenager. Wait until you are calm and energized before beginning a discussion. You are probably going to require all the patience and positive energy you can gather.
• Be there for your child. An offer to chat with your kid over coffee will probably be welcomed with a wry put-down or pretentious gesture, however, show that you are available. Insist on sitting down for lunchtime together with no phones, TV, or other distractions. Look at your child when you speak and invite your teenager to look at you. Don’t be frustrated if your efforts are welcomed by nothing more than monosyllabic shrugs or grunts. You may need to eat a lot of lunches in silence; however, when your teenager wants to open up, they know they will always have that chance to do as such.
• Find common ground. Trying to discuss your teenager’s appearance or clothes may be a sure-fire way to trigger a heated argument; however, you can still find some areas of common ground. Fathers and sons often relate over sports, mothers, and daughters over movies or gossip. The objective is not to be your child’s best friend, but to discover common interests that you can discuss peacefully. Once you are talking, your teenager may feel more comfortable opening up to you about some other topics.
• Listen without giving advice or judging. When your child does talk to you, it is important that you listen without judging, deriding, interfering with, reprimanding, or offering advice. Your child needs to feel valued and understood by you, so maintain eye contact and focus on your kid, in any event, when they are not looking at you. If you are checking your email or reading the newspaper, your teen will feel that they are not important to you.
• Expect rejection. Your child may often react to your attempts to connect with irritation, anger, or other negative reactions. Stay relaxed and allow your teenager space to cool down. Try again later when you are both calm. Successfully connecting to your teenager will take efforts and time. Do not be put off; persevere, and there will be a breakthrough.

If you identify the symptoms in your teen, talk to a doctor, therapist, counselor, or other psychological health professional for help finding the right treatment. In any event, when you look for professional help, though, that does not mean your job is over—it has just started. It is worth reminding your teen that regardless of how much turmoil or pain they are experiencing right now, with your support and love, and professional help when it’s required, the condition can and will get better—for both of you. If your child has worrying anger issues, contact us at our residential treatment facility, where we will help them discover the source and help you determine the best treatment for them.