Alcohol is more closely aligned with anger than any other drug. Alcohol is involved in half of all assaults, rapes, and murders. Anger is an intense emotion, and alcohol exacerbates it. Many arguments between both friends and strangers have been initiated due to a misunderstanding fueled by alcohol. Anger is a coping mechanism for some people, and it is often easier for them to express anger rather than face up to their alcohol addiction. But it works both ways. Drinking can make them forget about what fuels their anger, and anger can make them avoid the unsettling fact that they have an addiction. This is a complicated co-occurring disorder. If you are having a hard time keeping your anger under control, you may want to consider seeking help from an anger management therapy program.
How Anger Management Therapy Can Help You
Anger management therapy teaches you to how to regulate your emotions and the psychological arousal created by anger. Your reaction to a specific situation is something you have control over, even if you seem to have control over little else. Once you identify the triggers that are causing these angry outbursts, you can then find appropriate ways to rectify the situation. If you suppress the anger rather than face it, the tension and stress that it causes will increase. When unable to talk to a therapist or close friend about your feelings circling around your anger, you can use some techniques to calm yourself down. The following exercises may be helpful:
- Practice some breathing exercises.
- Using mindfulness and meditation can shift your focus away from the anger.
- Find an outlet for your anger so you can channel it into something positive like exercise.
- Practice tension release by tensing muscles and then relaxing them.
- Get some distance between yourself and what triggers your anger.
- Practice better sleeping habits. A consistent good night’s sleep can make a difference.
We all get angry at times, but we need to learn how to control it.
Anger Management Therapies
Psychotherapy is the best long-term solution to anger management issues. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) helps you identify the negative thoughts and emotions that spur your anger on. By talking about past traumas and how they have warped your outlook on life, you can learn to better regulate the negative feelings that initiate your angry outbursts. The following are some of the things that CBT can help you with:
- Emotional trauma that triggers your anger
- Developing a healthy relationship with your anger
- Chronic pain associated with anger like back and neck problems
- Stressful situations that trigger your anger
- Identify different ways to manage your anger
- Have some step-by-step goals to reach
Counseling can help you mitigate your feelings of anger.
Anger Management and Addiction
Behavioral disorders, which help ignite your anger, and alcohol addiction are co-occurring disorders, with one making the other more intense and harder to get under control. These underlying disorders can help explain where the anger comes from, and once the problem is identified, you can receive the appropriate therapy to contain it. Some of the following disorders are associated with alcohol abuse:
- Bipolar disorder
- Antisocial personality disorder
- Intermittent explosive disorder
- Oppositional defiant disorder
Co-occurring disorders are not uncommon, but they do complicate the rehab process. It may take more time to treat.
Reach Out to Ethan Crossing Columbus Today
Alcohol abuse can cause you to be angry, and feelings associated with anger can spur you on to have a drink. Once the two begin working in tandem, they are hard to control. It is only after you sober up that you realize what you have done. In anger management therapy, you can discover the roots of your anger and how to control it. At Ethan Crossing near Columbus, Ohio, our licensed clinicians can assist you in getting to the source of your negative feelings through cognitive-behavioral therapy in individual counseling sessions. Our dual diagnosis treatment promotes long-term recovery, and you can learn how to live with anger and not let it get out of control. We can be reached online or at 855.476.0078 for you to take the first step on your journey to wellness and recovery.
