Other factors that could make snapping more likely include being drunk, hot, hungry, or mentally tired. Another important cause for many people is adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
They were probably in an altered state, say Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, authors of “Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change.” The communication researchers define snapping as a sudden, drastic alteration of personality — but say the snap may actually be a long time in coming.
A common misconception held by people is that those suffering with a mental health disorder can simply 'snap out of it'. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Telling someone to 'get a grip' when they are experiencing a mental illness is the equivalent of telling someone to write when they have broken fingers.
What happens when you have a mental health crisis (“nervous breakdown”)? If you're having a mental health crisis, you may feel like you're losing control. Some event or change in your life is causing you an intense amount of stress, which is causing symptoms such as fear, anxiety, worry, nervousness and depression.
Through his research, Fields outlines the nine primary triggers of the human rage circuit and puts them into the handy mnemonic LIFEMORTS: Life-or-death situation, Insult, Family, Environment, Mate, Order in society, Resources, Tribe and Stopped (being restrained or cornered).
Irritability. Irritability is a feature of depression itself. If you have depression, anger may show up as snapping at others over trivial things or being unable to handle small disappointments without reacting negatively.
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.
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.
Naturally, they are often on edge. Even the smallest thing can push them over, causing them to snap at someone else, react harshly and sharply, or completely blow up without ever meaning to do so. Try to remember that someone's anxiety has them on edge at all times.
Anger is a secondary emotion
Typically, we experience a primary emotion like fear, loss, or sadness first. Because these emotions create feelings of vulnerability and loss of control, they make us uncomfortable. One way of attempting to deal with these feelings is by subconsciously shifting into anger.
xi The arousal cycle of anger has five phases: trigger, escalation, crisis, recovery and depression. Understanding the cycle helps us to understand our own reactions and those of others.
As a part of Potter-Efron's book he talks about the 6 stages of an emotional or anger event which is what I want to talk about in this blog entry. In order from 1 to 6 they are: activation, modulation, preparation, action, feedback and deactivation.
This may be most often seen in cases of trauma that involve exploitation or violence. The trauma and shock of early childhood abuse often affects how well the survivor learns to control his or her emotions. Problems in this area lead to frequent outbursts of extreme emotions, including anger and rage.
Dysregulated anger and heightened levels of aggression are prominent among Veterans and civilians with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two decades of research with Veterans have found a robust relationship between the incidence of PTSD and elevated rates of anger, aggression, and violence.
Anger issues, agitation or an irritable mood, particularly after consuming alcohol or taking other substances that disinhibit behavior, can indicate hypomania, a common sign of psychosis.
Many people also use anger as a defense mechanism to keep people away and provide a feeling of control over a situation. Unfortunately, reacting in anger can lead to additional issues in your relationships and other areas of your life.
Summary. The long-term physical effects of uncontrolled anger include increased anxiety, high blood pressure and headache. Anger can be a positive and useful emotion, if it is expressed appropriately. Long-term strategies for anger management include regular exercise, learning relaxation techniques and counselling.
It's true—stress from others can affect your own stress levels, and have an impact on your health. A 2009 study published in the Public Library of Science found that when people are stressed they release a chemical that can be inhaled by those around them, causing these people to become more anxious, as well.