What to do with Anger & Frustration
About Frustration & Anger
Everyone gets frustration & angry sometimes - it's a natural human emotion. Healthy frustration & anger gives us energy to make constructive change and helps us stand up for ourselves. The difficult skill is either to be able to quell our frustartion & anger or use it constructively. The trouble is when it turns to aggression or festers on the inside.
​Yet holding on to it can burn us up on the inside taking a toll on health and well being It may not be obvious on the outside but be eating us up on the inside resulting in frustration, stress, tension, insomnia, digestive problems, headaches, intimacy problems, anxiety and depression. Some people deal with this in unhealthy ways such as alcohol, drugs, bullying, controlling or risk taking.
Anger & Frustration Symptoms
﻿Outward symptoms of unhealthy anger & frustration include:​
Relationship problems & break-ups.
Lashing out - verbal or emotional outbursts.
Using alcohol or drugs to calm down (or wind up).
Impulsive acts you later regret.
Overly controlling or critical behaviour.
Your kids or partner becoming afraid of you.
﻿﻿​ ​Inward symptoms of unhealthy frustration & anger include:
Anxiety, tension, stress, being wound-up, headaches, etc.
Blame, self pity, remorse.
Guilt, shame, low self-esteem, loneliness.
Withdrawal, passive aggression, nursing grudges etc.
Emotional shut down, fear, avoidance or depression.
Patterns of frustration & anger include:
Becoming angry quite often.
Often feeling frustrated and on the edge of anger.
Blaming others for 'making you angry'.
Feeling angry but afraid or unable to communicate it.
Not knowing why you are feeling angry.
Difficulty calming down.
There are solutions​:
There are two steps required in working with frustration & anger. The first is learn how to manage it; this is practically helpful in controlling unhealthy anger and finding constructive alternatives. This requires gaining an understanding of your triggers so that early warning signs may be noticed and strategies developed for handling these. Clients are often surprised when a few simple changes in their lives make a dramatic difference.
The second step is understanding the underlying reasons for anger & frustartion and making sense of the unresolved feelings.
Counselling offers a non-judgemental space to explore underlying issues while at the same time developing practical behavioural alternatives, self-awareness and communication skills.
Still need more help? Don't hesitate to contact us