Anxiety and Anger: Their Connection, and Bringing Them Under Control

Our emotions can be complicated and interact with one another in complex and interesting ways. When a child chases a ball into a busy street, their parent will shout and run to them to get them back to safety as quickly as possible. In that situation, many parents will find themselves trying to comfort their child even while scolding them for their reckless behavior.

In that one moment, the parent is experiencing fear, but somehow that fear can be felt and expressed as anger. That is because when people are scared or worried about something, they often unconsciously choose anger as a way to feel more in control of the situation.

These complex experiences and expressions of emotion occur in other situations too, like when you look back on a fond memory involving a loved one that passed away. You may feel joy at the good times you had with them, but the memory may also be tinged with sadness as you recall that they are no longer with you. Similarly, we can experience anxiety and anger in a complex interaction between the two.

Understanding the connection between anxiety and anger.

Anxiety is how your body responds naturally to stress and situations of potential danger. It can be described as a feeling of fear or apprehension about something that’s to come, such as a job interview, date, or a meeting where you’re anticipating conflict. Anxiety can be intense.

Other examples of anxiety in real life include excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations such as going out of your house, being at a party, or meeting new people. When you experience anxiety, some changes to your body occur, and these include a fast heart rate, clammy skin, rapid breathing, sweating, racing thoughts, and feeling tired.

Anger is a natural and normal emotional response to feeling threatened or having our boundaries violated in some way. Our bodies are designed to react to danger by activating the fight-or-flight response. The hub of our emotions is the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure in our brains that triggers that cascade of physical responses to that threat.

In this instance, your body kicks into high gear before you’ve even had a chance to assess the situation rationally. When someone insults you or a loved one, when you’re cut off in traffic, or when you encounter injustice of some kind, you get angry and your body primes you for action to respond to the situation.

Many of the same physiological processes and systems that are triggered by anger and anxiety overlap significantly. For instance, when you’re either angry or anxious, your body secretes hormones that include cortisol and adrenaline, and these prepare you to fight or flee from a dangerous or threatening situation.

You’re also likely to experience the same physiological symptoms when you’re feeling either angry or anxious, including rapid heart rate, tight chest, tense muscles, tension headaches, feeling flushed, and gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea.

In a given situation where you encounter some kind of threat, you may feel anger at the moment, but underlying that anger may be anxiety that is not dealt with because the anger feels more immediate. When that anxiety is left unacknowledged and unexpressed, it can turn into frustration, which in turn can lead to anger.

On the other side of it, anxiety can also turn to anger when for example someone has an obsessive-compulsive disorder. This is an excessive form of anxiety in which the person follow a very strict routine. If the people in their life don’t follow their routines and rituals, or if they disrupt those routines, that could lead to anger.

Anxiety can subtly present as anger. One example of this is that traffic and crowds often trigger anxiety. These feelings can result in road rage as one becomes angry with people on the road.

Feeling excessive anger or anxiety can have serious effects on your well-being. Your mental and physical health can suffer if your anger and anxiety aren’t under control. For instance, too much anxiety or anger can result in heart disease, fatigue, and lung problems such as worsening asthma, headaches, high blood pressure, and insomnia.

Signs you may need help .

While anger and anxiety are natural responses to stressful and potentially dangerous situations, that doesn’t mean you can’t experience and express them in a destructive manner. Some of the signs that indicate you need to get your anxiety and anger under control include the following:

• Your episodes of anger or anxiety are both frequent and intense .
• Your feelings of anger or anxiety have caused you to have thoughts of self-harm .
• You are no longer welcome in certain places such as restaurants, grocery stores, or other places of business because of how you express your feelings of anger.
• Your loved ones such as your friends, family, or people such as your coworkers have expressed concerns over how you handle your anger or anxiety.
• You feel like your anxiety is interfering with your ability to function or enjoy your life.
• Your anger has gotten you in trouble with the law.
• You express your anger in verbally or physically aggressive ways .
• You have concerns that your anger or anxiety may be making you depressed.
• Because of your anxiety, you’ve begun to avoid events and other specific situations such as parties, public presentations, or raising your hand and responding to questions in class.

Getting anger and anxiety under control.

Due to the close connection between anger and anxiety in terms of the stimuli that trigger them as well as how they affect a person physiologically, many of the same techniques and strategies that can work to calm anxiety are also quite effective in helping to manage anger.

If you experience anger or anxiety so often or intensely that it begins to interfere with your well-being, there are a few things you can do to bring these feelings under control.

If your anger or anxiety are debilitating, it’s important that you see a doctor or mental health professional to ascertain whether there is an underlying reason for these experiences, such as stress, depression, or another mood disorder. Sometimes, medication may be necessary as part of getting healthy again. Other ways to bring anger and anxiety under control include the following:

Take your self-care seriously.

If you find yourself feeling anxious, stressed, or angry, be sure to take a few minutes for yourself. This can take the form of finding a quiet space removed from the stressful environment and giving yourself time to calm down.

Self-care also means taking time out to replenish your reserves of strength and doing what you need to stay healthy. Self-care includes practices such as sleeping well, eating right, and doing the things that you enjoy in life such as pursuing your hobbies.

Journal your thoughts.

Both anger and anxiety need to be released and expressed in healthy ways. Writing can be a good way to release anxious or angry thoughts, and you can do this through a physical diary or by keeping your thoughts on a phone app.

Take in some exercise.

Exercise is a well-known mood booster as it stimulates the release of neurotransmitters such as endorphins, oxytocin, and serotonin, which are known as feel-good hormones. Aside from the physiology of exercise, exercise helps keep your focus on your body and away from whatever anxious or angry thoughts that would otherwise be occupying your mind.

You can go swimming, running, or walking in nature; whatever suits your fancy and you’re cleared for by your doctor. If you can, do your exercise outdoors, as that too can help further elevate your mood.

Practice mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the ability to stay present in the moment, with an awareness of your emotions and thoughts. While aware of what you’re sensing and feeling, you do so without judging and without attempting to change or interpret what you’re experiencing. Mindfulness gives you a chance to calm down, and you can analyze your thoughts and challenge them if need be.

Deep breathing and other techniques.

When you’re feeling either angry or anxious, your breathing is affected, as is your heart rate. Slow breathing has powerful effects on the physiological symptoms of anxiety and anger as it can help you to feel less angry and anxious. When your breathing slows, you feel relaxed. Another way to feel relaxed is to go for a massage or take a bath.

Another effective means of dealing with anger and anxiety is through the help of a mental health professional using talk therapy. There are techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that are highly effective in addressing many of the underlying causes of anger and anxiety.

Through CBT, a therapist or counselor trained in the therapeutic technique will help you identify the circumstances that may trigger your anxiety or anger. Not only that, but your counselor can discern unhealthy thought patterns that may be worsening your anger and anxiety or working to distort your view of reality.

Your counselor can work with you to help you identify any unhealthy thoughts and reframe them in such a way that you can cope with your anger or anxiety. If you need help to rein your anger or anxiety, don’t hesitate to reach out today for professional help.