
Anger
August 22, 2021
This article covers
- What is Anger?
- Anger and mental health
- With whom or where to get help?
What is Anger?
Anger refers to a strong feeling that is experienced in response to hurt, wrongdoing or any form of perceived injustice that has happened. Anger can be felt towards others or inwardly onto yourself.
There are different types of anger, these can include:
Open aggression– such as swearing, shouting, hitting, name-calling, punching, and breaking.
Passive aggression– such as ignoring, being sarcastic, giving the ‘silent treatment’, refusing to do tasks, writing aggressive posts targeted at a person without explicitly expressing who it is about, purposefully leaving someone out, meanwhile not directly saying anything aggressive.
Inward aggression– such as being very hard on yourself, calling yourself names, punishing, or denying yourself of important things (e.g., food, water) or self-harming.
Assertive anger– such as respectfully letting a friend know that you find a certain behaviour upsetting or unfair.
It’s really embarrassing because you can feel yourself getting annoyed but can’t find a way to express why without exploding or walking away, and the person which made you angry gets away with it.
Betty – Mindsum Peer Support Worker
Anger and mental health
Anger is a normal feeling that we all express in our day-to-day lives. However, if your anger is intense or often out of control, this can affect you and others emotionally.
You might feel guilty after an episode of anger and your relationship with loved ones might get affected. A survey by the Mental Health Foundation of approximately 1,900 people found that 1 in 5 people ended a relationship or friendship, because of how the person acted when angry.
Research suggests that there is a link between problematic anger and mental health issues, including depression and self-harm.
Problems with anger might also lead to risky behaviours, such as:
- Refusal to attend school
- Use of drugs or alcohol
- Self-harm
- Isolation
- Eating problems
With whom or where to get help?
If you are struggling to the point that you are having thoughts of hurting yourself, please call 999 as soon as possible.
Talk to someone about how you are feeling. You might want to:
- Talk to your parents/carers, friends, or other family members
- Talk about it with your GP, who can make a referral for you
- Talk to your school counsellor
You need to find a way to get the anger out of your body. Mine was through boxing but you could sing or paint. Anything to get your body to process the emotions so that anger doesn’t come out randomly and you can control when the anger comes out.
Betty – Mindsum Peer Support Worker
Working with a counsellor or therapist can help you to learn helpful strategies to manage your anger, especially if this is affecting your mental health and relationships. A professional can help you to deal with situations more productively without allowing anger to take over.
You can book a free initial consultation with a qualified mental health professional through our online service.
You can also contact a helpline such as Childline (for those under 19s) or The Mix (for those under 25s) for support from people who are willing to listen and help you.
Useful resources
Mental Health Foundation
You can access helpful information and research data on anger and mental health on the Mental Health Foundation website. Click here to access the link.
Mind
You can access information and useful resources about problematic anger on the Mind website. Click here to access the link.
Young Minds
You can read and access resources about anger on the Young Minds website. Click here to access the link.