Question about outbursts of anger while under stress

[Little lunch]

Medication is great for dealing with stress, at least until you deal with the issue that's causing your stress.
A good proportion of the world's population do this by drinking coffee, alcohol, eating junk food or taking illegal substances.
So going to a doctor and getting a pill for anxiety or depression or whatever is no big deal and it's supervised.
In my opinion it's worthwhile seeing a psychologist.
He/she may help you in getting to any underlying issues and teach you how to deal with situations more effectively.
It takes time, so see the doctor first.
In the meanwhile, there is a simple technique for dealing with anger.
Take notice of what triggers you, take notice of your actions, think through what the consequences of your actions will most likely be.
At first, you'll do all three steps after the event, but the more you do it, eventually you'll stay away from certain situations and think it through before you do it.
When your thinking about consequences, don't just think about what you may do to others, eg, ruin friendships, lose job, etc, but think also about how it makes you feel afterwards, eg, embarrassed, sad, no energy, etc.
It sounds simple but it works and it's basically what they teach you in anger management.
I hope this helps.

[purplepurpose]

Majority of anger outbursts I feel aren't something I can fix by mental gymnastics, I have done mental gymnastics hundred of times and the same flavor of anger pops up from strong stress. And all I can afford are harmful but strong chemical pills which I will take as last resort.

[brewer]

Medication is great for dealing with stress, at least until you deal with the issue that's causing your stress.
A good proportion of the world's population do this by drinking coffee, alcohol, eating junk food or taking illegal substances.
So going to a doctor and getting a pill for anxiety or depression or whatever is no big deal and it's supervised.
In my opinion it's worthwhile seeing a psychologist.
He/she may help you in getting to any underlying issues and teach you how to deal with situations more effectively.
It takes time, so see the doctor first.
In the meanwhile, there is a simple technique for dealing with anger.
Take notice of what triggers you, take notice of your actions, think through what the consequences of your actions will most likely be.
At first, you'll do all three steps after the event, but the more you do it, eventually you'll stay away from certain situations and think it through before you do it.
When your thinking about consequences, don't just think about what you may do to others, eg, ruin friendships, lose job, etc, but think also about how it makes you feel afterwards, eg, embarrassed, sad, no energy, etc.
It sounds simple but it works and it's basically what they teach you in anger management.
I hope this helps.

Nice synopsis of Socratic questioning/Mindfulness CBT and right on the money. I'd add that he should think about alternative responses, other than anger, and what those outcomes might create.

[Fireball]

Medication is great for dealing with stress, at least until you deal with the issue that's causing your stress.
A good proportion of the world's population do this by drinking coffee, alcohol, eating junk food or taking illegal substances.
So going to a doctor and getting a pill for anxiety or depression or whatever is no big deal and it's supervised.
In my opinion it's worthwhile seeing a psychologist.
He/she may help you in getting to any underlying issues and teach you how to deal with situations more effectively.
It takes time, so see the doctor first.
In the meanwhile, there is a simple technique for dealing with anger.
Take notice of what triggers you, take notice of your actions, think through what the consequences of your actions will most likely be.
At first, you'll do all three steps after the event, but the more you do it, eventually you'll stay away from certain situations and think it through before you do it.
When your thinking about consequences, don't just think about what you may do to others, eg, ruin friendships, lose job, etc, but think also about how it makes you feel afterwards, eg, embarrassed, sad, no energy, etc.
It sounds simple but it works and it's basically what they teach you in anger management.
I hope this helps.

Nice synopsis of Socratic questioning/Mindfulness CBT and right on the money. I'd add that he should think about alternative responses, other than anger, and what those outcomes might create.

*Force Choke*

[brewer]

Nice synopsis of Socratic questioning/Mindfulness CBT and right on the money. I'd add that he should think about alternative responses, other than anger, and what those outcomes might create.

*Force Choke*

Force choke? FORCE CHOKE?!?!?!?!?!?! Why I otta. You come over here and I'll show ya force choke!

[Fireball]

*Force Choke*

Force choke? FORCE CHOKE?!?!?!?!?!?! Why I otta. You come over here and I'll show ya force choke!

urk...

[brewer]

Force choke? FORCE CHOKE?!?!?!?!?!?! Why I otta. You come over here and I'll show ya force choke!

urk...

Oops, didn't get the connection the first time.

[Jackalope]

@Open

I can't offer any advice on your particular situation, yours and mine may have entirely different causes. I have had emotional stability issues for pretty much my whole life so I can at least relate. Mine is rooted in mental illness, and I can say that therapy and medication - an anticonvulsant, the same type of drug they'd give me if I had epilepsy. which may seem a bit strange, but I can testify that the combination of both has changed my life for the better, not to mention the lives of those around me.

For me, therapy has allowed me to learn -who I am- and -what makes me tick-. There's some mental gymnastics involved but you rely on that less and less. There is unfortunately in my experience, no easy solution. It takes work. It's worth it.

[Quixotic]

I take prozac. As stated before, it's a temporary fix, but my anger shows itself so differently now. My psychiatrist and I hope to get off of it soon, but I will stay on it if I previous habits return. I definitely recommend a psychotherapist, at the very least.