Many individuals with an anxiety disorder will often be quick to anger; however, the link between anger and anxiety is often missed or overlooked. Anxiety is often connected with overstimulation from a stressful environment or threat, combined with the perceived inability to deal with that threat.
Irritability is a symptom of anxiety
With their body and mind overwhelmed with worry, the person can feel stressed and depleted of energy. This can make it difficult for them to shrug off or ignore things as they normally would be able to do. In turn, this can cause them to become more irritable and anger quicker.
If someone has an obsessive compulsive disorder, for example, and they follow a very strict routine, any kind of disruption from others could lead to anger. “When that gets activated, they will respond in a way to try to convince other people to follow their ritual, and if they don't, they get angry.”
It's common to feel irritable from time to time, but if you feel unusually irritable or irritable all the time or on edge, it is important that you talk to your doctor as it could be a symptom of a mental health condition, like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, or a physical condition.
Anger is present as a key criterion in five diagnoses within DSM-5: Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorder.
1. Irritable, testy, touchy, irascible are adjectives meaning easily upset, offended, or angered. Irritable means easily annoyed or bothered, and it implies cross and snappish behavior: an irritable clerk, rude and hostile; Impatient and irritable, he was constantly complaining.
Although anxiety disorders are typically characterized by social withdrawal, inhibition and shyness, and discomfort in social expression, individuals with anxiety disorders often express intense and out of proportion anger and aggression [7; 8].
Yelling Can Lead to Depression
Many studies show a strong connection between emotional abuse and depression or anxiety. These symptoms can worsen behavior and even cause self-destructive habits, like substance misuse or risk-taking behaviors.
Suppressed anger can be an underlying cause of anxiety and depression. Anger that is not appropriately expressed can disrupt relationships, affect thinking and behavior patterns, and create a variety of physical problems.
SSRIs that have been shown to help with anger include citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), among others. Sertraline seems to have the most supporting data. Other classes of antidepressants, like serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), aren't widely used for treating anger.
Anxiety disorders are a type of mental health condition. Anxiety makes it difficult to get through your day. Symptoms include feelings of nervousness, panic and fear as well as sweating and a rapid heartbeat. Treatments include medications and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Anxiety disorder is more likely to result in anger than plain old anxiety because there's a build-up of stress over a prolonged period. For example, someone with Social Anxiety Disorder may become frustrated with someone if they steer the anxious individual toward an uncomfortable social environment.
Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) involves frequent episodes of impulsive anger that's out of proportion to the event that triggered it. These outbursts can result in physical harm to the person with IED, other people or animals. It's essential to seek medical treatment for IED as soon as possible.
Taking care of a partner with an anxiety disorder can be like filling up a bottomless bucket. It feels like you're giving more than you can, but all your love, kindness, understanding, and patience is not enough. It is important to remember that no matter how much you try, you alone cannot cure someone else's anxiety.
1. “It's All In Your Head” So is everything. Reminding a person suffering from an anxiety attack that the anxious thoughts and threat they perceive isn't congruent with reality is just not going to help – they likely know this already.
Egger adds that the phrase “calm down” implies that your friend or loved one is choosing not to be calm or that they're choosing to feel anxious, when in reality their condition makes it extremely difficult for them to feel calm. As a result, this phrase can cause them to feel ashamed, powerless, and alone.
It's understandable to feel frightened if someone you care about experiences a panic attack – especially if it seems to happen without warning. But it can help if you: try to stay calm. gently let them know that you think they might be having a panic attack and that you are there for them.
The symptoms of anxiety that most of us think of are clinging to parents, avoiding things or being very shy. But problem behavior can also be a symptom of anxiety.
It could be something as simple as being hungry or tired. Or, maybe something recently happened in your life that has you feeling scared, angry, or stressed out. Mental health struggles can also make you irritable, so if you haven't taken one of our mental health test yet, try that.
Difficult experiences in childhood, adolescence or adulthood are a common trigger for anxiety problems. Going through stress and trauma when you're very young is likely to have a particularly big impact. Experiences which can trigger anxiety problems include things like: physical or emotional abuse.
Enraged. This is the stage when you feel completely out of control. You may exhibit destructive behavior when your anger reaches this point, such lashing out physically, excessive swearing, or threatening violence.