When we are in stressful situations, it is normal to feel anxious or angry. Both are normal psychological responses to worries, fears, frustrations, or injustice; many situations can trigger both.
However, many individuals find it difficult to manage their anxiety. In some instances, anxiety induces anger, making angry responses to specific situations a symptom of underlying anxiety instead of a separate response.
Understanding the connection between anxiety and anger can give you a safer, more effective way to regulate your emotions. It can improve your self-awareness and equip you to deal with conflicts and stressful situations.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a natural emotional state characterized by unpleasant feelings and distress over an anticipated danger, threat, or conflict. Anxiety is different from fear; feelings of fear are a response to a real or ongoing danger, whereas anxiety is the anticipation of a future danger.
Symptoms of Anxiety
The symptoms of anxiety vary depending on the individual. Common symptoms of anxiety are divided into two groups: physical and psychological.
Physical symptoms of anxiety:
- A racing or pounding heart, indicated by a higher heart rate than normal
- Sweating
- Trembling or shaking
- Shortness of breath
- A sensation of being choked or smothered
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Muscular tension
- Dizziness
Psychological symptoms of anxiety:
- Difficulties controlling feelings of worry or unease, typically aimed at future or possible events
- Difficulty concentrating
- Irritability
- Restlessness
- Feeling on edge
- Difficulties falling or staying asleep
Common Types of Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is a natural and logical response in many stressful situations or in response to worldwide events. However, under normal circumstances, feelings of anxiety are mild, temporary, and subside quickly. If you experience extreme or persistent feelings of anxiety, or if anxiety is negatively impacting your daily life, this can potentially be the symptoms of an anxiety disorder. The following are some of the most common anxiety disorders and their typical symptoms.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Generalized anxiety disorder is a persistent feeling of anxiety or dread that does not fully dissipate or subside. GAD is usually directed at life issues like job security, health, or finances.
Common symptoms of GAD include constant feelings of restlessness, being fatigued quickly, irritability, long-term issues concentrating or sleeping, and frequent headaches and unexplained physical pains. These symptoms are typically constant and can interfere with daily activities. - Panic disorder. A panic disorder is a condition causing someone to have frequent and unexpected panic attacks. Panic disorders are characterized by repeatedly feeling the symptoms of panic attacks, like chest pains, racing heart, hyperventilation, chills, nausea, and feelings of intense terror. These symptoms occur despite the lack of a specific trigger or event that could be expected to cause a panic attack.
- Social anxiety disorder. A social anxiety disorder, formerly known as social phobia, is an intense and persistent feeling of anxiety and self-consciousness over being watched and judged by others. It can result in a reluctance or avoidance of social situations.
People with social anxiety disorder can experience fear and various symptoms in social settings, such as sweating, shaking, racing heart, tense muscles, and difficulty carrying conversations. - Specific phobias. Individuals who have specific phobias feel intense anxiety about encountering, seeing, or experiencing specific objects or situations. When exposed to the object of their phobia, they can feel intense feelings of fear and disgust.
Common examples include arachnophobia (fear of spiders), claustrophobia (enclosed spaces), acrophobia (heights), cynophobia (dogs and canines), and trypophobia (clusters of holes). - Agoraphobia. Although agoraphobia is named similarly to a specific phobia, it is classified as a separate anxiety disorder. It refers to feelings of excessive anxiety and fear of being in an environment from which there is no easy way to escape. It is not the same as claustrophobia, which is specifically a fear of enclosed spaces.
Various settings, such as crowds, queues, shopping centers, or public transportation can trigger agoraphobia. Severe cases of agoraphobia can cause panic attacks and force someone to become housebound. - Separation anxiety disorder. People who have separation anxiety disorder feel intense or uncontrolled anxiety when not accompanied by specific individuals. This disorder leads to feelings of intense distress or fear for your own safety or that of the specific person when not in their presence.
The most common examples of separation anxiety disorder are children separated from their parents, who may feel reluctance to go to school or attend outdoor activities. However, it can also occur in adults separated from their loved ones, potentially resulting in elevated anxiety, sadness, fear, or panic attacks. - Selective mutism. Someone with selective mutism is unable to speak in specific social situations despite being capable of speaking normally in others. It is typically associated with younger children and is frequently confused with shyness. However, it can also occur in older children and adults.
Selective mutism triggers are typically social activities causing intense feelings of anxiety, withdrawal, or fear of social embarrassment.
Understanding Anger
Anger is an immediate and natural emotional response to certain situations, such as perceived threats, injustice, frustrations, or obstacles. Anger can be expressed at different intensity levels, ranging from mild irritation to explosive rage.
Symptoms of Anger Issues
While anger can motivate positive or constructive action, mismanaged or excessive anger can make daily life and social interactions more difficult. You may have anger issues if you feel one or more of the following:
- Frequent feelings of irritation
- Intense physiological symptoms, such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, or muscular tension
- Disproportionate feelings of anger or rage over minor inconveniences
- Verbal aggression, such as shouting, arguing, or insults
- Physical aggression, such as hitting other people, throwing, or breaking objects
- Long-term resentment or grudges for other individuals
- Intense, impulsive behavior characterized by frequent snap decisions
- Feeling the need to withdraw or isolate yourself after an angry outburst
- Difficulties managing relationships due to aggressive or hostile behavior
- Feeling out of control during angry outbursts
The Impact of Uncontrolled Anger
Uncontrolled or mismanaged feelings of anger can severely impact your physical and mental health and strain social relationships. Some of the potential consequences include:
- Physical health risks. Chronic anger increases the risk of health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart diseases, headaches, stomachaches, and skin disorders.
According to a 2018 study on the relationship between aggression and the human body, chronic anger can also weaken the immune system. In extreme situations, chronic anger can result in physical violence, creating a safety risk for yourself and others. - Mental health risks. Uncontrolled anger can cause or exacerbate depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. It can also worsen the effects of existing mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
- Risks to personal and professional life. Mismanaged anger can strain or end relationships with family or loved ones. Anger issues can also decrease productivity, cause conflicts with coworkers, and damage your professional reputation.
- Legal and financial risks. Some of the more severe consequences of uncontrolled anger include property damage and physical assault. They carry the risk of fines, legal penalties, or imprisonment.
Interrelationship Between Anxiety and Anger
Anxiety and anger are complex and interrelated emotions. Both can be responses to stress, often causing them to intersect and influence each other, such as with anxiety-induced anger.
The Emotional Link
Anxiety often comes from worries or anticipation of future and potential events. They can cause feelings of vulnerability, uncertainty, or inadequacy. If these feelings are intense and overwhelming, they can often lead to anxiety-induced anger. In this case, anger is a defense mechanism that gives the feeling of taking or re-establishing some degree of control over the situation.
Anger can also lead to further anxiety, especially when not expressed or resolved. Leaving feelings of anger unresolved is an act of expressive suppression, colloquially known as “bottling up.” For example, a person who feels undervalued or ignored may keep the angry feelings to themselves instead of expressing them.
However, bottling up can increase stress, anxiety, and depression. It can trap someone inside a vicious cycle of emotions: anxious feelings prompt frustration, which causes anger, which, when not appropriately expressed, fuels further anxiety.
The Psychophysiological Connection
Both anxiety and anger are strong emotions with physiological effects on the body. Both can trigger a fight-or-flight response and activate the adrenal glands. They flood the body with hormones associated with anger responses, such as adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol.
- Adrenaline increases heart rate, blood pressure, and energy supplies. It makes you more alert and prepares you for instant physical actions (fight or flight).
- Noradrenaline also primes your body for immediate action by raising your heart rate, releasing glucose from your body’s energy stores, and increasing blood flow to muscles.
- Cortisol allows more glucose to circulate in your bloodstream and prepares your brain to use more of it. It also suppresses bodily functions that would be unnecessary during a fight-or-flight response, such as the digestive system.
These mechanisms can be beneficial and help you survive in dangerous situations. However, frequent and excessive exposure to the effects of these hormones can also cause physical and mental health problems, such as cardiovascular damage, immune suppression, and sleep disorders.
Causes of Anxiety and Anger
Some individuals are more prone to bouts of anxiety or anger than others. Three factors can influence your sensitivity to stress: genetic predispositions, environmental factors, and overall stress levels in your day-to-day life.
- Genetic predispositions. Pharmacogenetic research and studies have uncovered evidence of links between genetics and anxiety or anger issues. Some genetic traits can make you more sensitive to stress and prone to anxiety and anger responses, increasing the risk of disorders such as GAD.
- Environmental factors. Your surroundings and past experiences can also affect your ability to express and regulate stress. Research shows that childhood experiences typically impact a person’s development and emotional regulation skills the most. Exposure to extreme stress and traumatic events as a child increases the risk of anger issues and anxiety disorders later in life.
- Stress and lifestyle. Regular exposure to high levels of stress in day-to-day life, such as work conditions or a stressful home environment, can cause or worsen anxiety and anger issues. Lifestyle factors can also affect your emotional regulation capabilities, such as poor sleep quality, unhealthy diet, insufficient physical activity, or substance abuse.
Guidance on Managing Anxiety and Anger
If you have difficulties managing intense anger and anxiety, consider adopting these strategies and techniques. They can help you understand and recognize these emotions, empowering you with the means to manage them more efficiently.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychological treatment with proven effectiveness against depression, anxiety disorders, and uncontrolled anger.
The core principles of CBT are centered around recognizing the role unhelpful thought patterns and behavior can play in creating or worsening psychological problems. They are designed to teach specific strategies, including:
- Recognizing when unhelpful thinking distorts one’s view of reality
- Improving comprehension of the behavior and motivations of other people
- Learning problem-solving strategies to cope with anxiety or anger-inducing situations
Numerous studies have recognized the effectiveness of CBT in treating anxiety and anger disorders. In some individuals, CBT has equal or greater effectiveness than psychiatric medication.
Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques
Practices centered around mindfulness and relaxation include exercises like deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. These exercises can help you physically control some of the physiological symptoms of anxiety and anger. They help your body to relax and calm down.
Mindfulness exercises, such as focused breathing and meditation, can teach you how to deal with anger and anxiety more effectively. They can help you focus on the present moment and reduce feelings of reactivity or judgment that come with being angry or anxious.
Improved Lifestyle Choices
Changing your lifestyle or switching your daily habits for healthier alternatives can improve your overall emotional health and ability to manage anger and anxiety. Strategies to consider include:
- Physical activity. Introducing or increasing the amount of physical activity can help you limit the amount of stress hormones in your body. For example, studies have shown that regular, moderate exercise reduces the amount of cortisol. It can also help you improve sleep quality.
- Balanced diet. Eating a nutritious and balanced diet can improve and stabilize your mood, reducing the impact of anger and anxiety. For example, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains contain complex carbohydrates, which are effective at regulating blood glucose levels and limiting the effects of stress.
- Better sleep. A higher quantity and quality of sleep help regulate stress hormones and emotions and improve cognitive processing. It not only decreases anxiety but also increases resilience to stress, making you better able to deal with spikes in anxious or angry feelings.
- Limit caffeine consumption. Tea, coffee, and energy drinks contain caffeine, raising your cortisol levels and increasing or exacerbating anxiety and anger. If you habitually drink caffeinated beverages, consider limiting your consumption to improve anxiety and anger management.
The Role of Medication in Anxiety and Anger Management
While non-medicated anxiety and anger management techniques can help many people with emotional regulation, medication is also commonly prescribed to deal with excessive anxiety and anger.
Common types of medications recommended for anxiety and anger management include anxiolytics, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), antidepressants, and beta-blockers.
If the feelings of anxiety and anger are severe and routinely impact daily life, medication can help address the short- and long-term effects. They can also be offered as an alternative to non-medicated treatments if ineffective. If your anxiety and anger are symptoms of an underlying mental disorder, such as GAD, medication can be an effective solution to treat the condition directly.
Get Support for Anxiety and Anger with the Mind Health Group
Do you need help managing overwhelming anxiety-induced anger? The therapists at the Mind Health Group can offer the guidance and support you need. We are here to help you every step on your journey to better mental health, from personalized support and telehealth solutions to prescribing medications. Contact us today to get started and regain control of your life.
