View Full Version : Is this THE cure!!!
Have any of you noticed that when you get angry about something that has really p****d you off, your anxiety lessens?
I recently got so 'down' feeling anxious all the time that my temper increased somewhat. Not to the point of being a 'jerk' or anything but just a feeling inside of aggression toward my suffering.
I noticed that inside I became 'ready for war' so to speak, a feeling as though I could take on the world and win!
I noticed a substantial decrease in my anxiety almost immediately.
Is this the hidden cure we are all searching for?
I know this goes against the fantastic teachings of Dr Claire Weekes and her amazing work, but for me personally, it does seem to work!
Perhaps if we were to find a way to constantly be angry with our symptoms but still keep a level head about us in other matters.......this could be the cure!
Just a thought.
Kevin.
Malton Seadog
30-09-08, 15:01
I know what you mean.
I think it's a case of engaging the mind or disengaging it.
When we engage it, we get excited/annoyed/angry/aroused and the anxiety is shoved to the side.
When we disengage it and relax, the same happens - the mind is almost switched off so the anxiety can't function.
I think it's a dangerous technique getting angry to cure it. If you could turn that anger into enthusiasm for a hobby for example, that's a lot healthier in my opinion.
Hi kev....do you think it could be that all the adreneline that usually makes us feel so anxious is being used up in the angry build-up? we're always being told thats our anx is the 'flight or fight' response arent we? Just a thought :) xxxxx
Malton and Cathy.
These are both interesting comments you make.
There are a number of issues that could be responsible here.
Malton, yes it is dangerous using anger to cure it. As I said the 'in thing' is to try and limit this anger to anxiety only. That's the difficult bit.
I would prefer them to do more research into this rather than depend on medication though.
We could all be onto something here!
Kevin.
I think it's more to do with focus.
Once, I had a terrible days anxiety I remember sitting in an office feeling so anxious worrying I was going mad or going to have a heart attack (a daily occurence at that time) when my mobile went, wife calling.
She had broken down (clutch gone) in the pouring rain with our 1 yo girl in the back seat on the corner of a dodgy junction on a dual carrageway, and she was in a real panic.
I jumped in my motor, shot over there (after telling her to not sit in the car) pulled up, trucks rushing by everywhere, couldn't get the thing to engage. Noticed the clutch cable had come off, and got it back on the arm again.
Got her in the car, followed her home, all safe, shot back to work, stuck the kettle on and?
And realised that since I took the call, I forgot all about my anxiety and applied myself to the task (no I don't wear my underpants on the outside).
That day made me realise my own anxiety was worse when I just sat there thinking about it, and when I was busy, I suffered anxiety less.
So maybe its not anger as such, just focusing on something else?
Who knows :)
Jaco
Jaco.
I know what you're saying, but this anger come about and I did not have anything else occupying my mind. I was not doing anything that required my utter most concentration.
I agree, when I get involved in anything which requires immediatte help or assistance to someone, the anxiety is not present.
But this time, I wasn't!
Can it be possible to 'channel' this feeling to conquer anxiety without having to resort to keeping us occupied in order to keep it at bay? we have to remain calm in all other matters, but just use the anger to 'zap' the anxiety symptoms.
Kevin.
Anger and Anxiety are one of the same. Normally when your angry your anrgy at someone/thing else, when your Anxious, your angry at yourself..
its hard to do the same thing at the same time, even if your a woman :o:p:D
Ok, so focus and adrenaline then...:D but you still needed the rush to get you out there, and then we dont notice what the adrenaline is doing because all the things its doing such as the racing heart and the shallow breathing etc, are needed at those times so we accept it and use it, but its only when we are sitting doing not much of anything , and we feel the adrenaline effects on our system that it makes us panic. Makes sense to me anyway lol!
pinkpiglet
30-09-08, 15:46
Very interesting post, i have to say you all have very good points to make and there is not much that i can add. It proves that when we focus our attention on to other thoughts our anxiety lessens. It seems that when we are not giving fuel to the anxiety it starts to weaken. I am thinking now that maybe i need a hobby, like thai boxing or karate or something to use up my adrenalin. Thanks guys, and thankyou Horse for starting this thread. It has given me something to muse over.:yesyes:
I think Pinkpiglet has come close to what I'm trying to say.
I'm not saying we should all take up Thai Boxing or Karate but the example is the same.
We are using our anger and frustration to advantage within us (this is beginning to get heavy now).
Our aggression is being controlled or channelled towards Anxiety but through another 'source'?
Although in this case it is physical. It would therefore be a Godsend if we could do this mentally.
Am I making myself clear as mud here or making some sense. I'm probably making a complete prat of myself and my ideas as usual!
Kevin.
This is funny. I find the exact opposite. I find if I get angry or wound up about anything it makes me considerably worse. I start feeling rough again straight away.
Gets everyone differently I suppose :)
Exactly pink, and i guess thats why the docs and the books keep telling us that exercise is great for anx, but think id better stick to yoga...would that be enough to use up the adrenaline tho?
Cath xxx :chairfall:
i think you have made a good point its using that adrenalin for something else whether its anger or exercise both have worked for me i mentioned in another post about getting really angry because i wanted to leave the supermarket an i just said no thats it ive had it with this im no gonne so bring it on do your worse i wont leave this shop and it worked i was raging with my panic and it left that was one battle i did win!!
lee xx
lifeissweet
30-09-08, 16:24
hi kevin
i totally agree, i have noticed this in myself too...if i am angry about something i am very FOCUSSED on something, whereas when im anxious its when im idle.
its like all my energy is being put into another emotion rather than anxiety , great post thanks x
Kevin
When you get angry don't you still react with a racing heart and can get a bit breathless and stuff - yes???
Am I being dim here? I get angry with my anxiety I get frustrated with it and upset with it. I still get the same sort of symptoms tho.
Could you clarify it a little more for me.... please. I'll get angry if it will cure me of the little tormenter.
The changing of focus is definitely true. You can be feeling completely anx all day, get a phone call from one of your children - they need help - mind focuses more on them- anx decreases. This is a bit like not thinking about your raging toothache when you drop a sledgehammer on your foot isn't it.
Love to all
Your walking along and someone bumps into you deliberately - what do you do? You get angry, maybe to confront the jerk that did it. Anger is just the "fight" of "fight and flight". The same chemicals are used but in a different way. Another example is going on a fairground ride. Some use the adrenalin as a buzz while other for anxiety. I don't think you can be genuinely angry and anxious at the same time?
Tom
A big part of my anxiety is worrying about controlling my anger.
I fear 'losing it' and letting my anger explode.
I think that using anger as a form of therapy or outlet is ok as long as you have a channel for it, like doing a sport or going to the gym, especially a contact sport, such as some form of martial arts or boxing, where you can let rip and work out all your rage.
Ok guys
Hers my take on the whole anger thing - I too notice that when I argue with my girlfriend my anxiety seems to lessen, when I would expect it to rise. I dont think its too do with the anger as such I think its more to do with regaining control if that makes sense?
So much of anxiety is tied up in the loss of control in some way i.e when your panicing, anxiety has certainly taken over my life!! I feel powerless to control anything that happens to me now I think when you get angry that assertive part of you thats in control kicks in and it makes you feel good because rather than being passive you are reactive to a situation and most of us feel the need to be in control.
Hope this makes sense?
Good post BTW certainly made me think
Interesting, i used to be very aggresive. Jumped up and hit anyone who even looked at me or my family wrong.....learn't to be less violent and became an anxiety freak. I am learning to realise that i have a right to feel and to protect. I think it will take a while but am coming to a level eventualy. I am over the top one minute and sub the next but am learning with my nurse and social worker to find the middle. Not bad cos i home ed my 15 yr old xxxx
eeyorelover
30-09-08, 23:12
Ok there are two ways to look at this... chemically and structurally.
Structurally function in the limbic system causes emotional responses such as rage, fear, reasoning, and impulse control. The limbic system located deep inside the brain is associated with the roots of anxiety, panic, and fear.
It is also the place where sexual desire starts. That's right guys sex really does start above the neck!!! hehe
Anyway so quite possibly one of the problems with someone who has anxiety, anger, and lack of sex drive could be that this part of the brain isn't working quite the way it is supposed to.
Chemically, there are 4 "happy" chemicals in your brain that cause a sense of calm, reason, and a feeling of ease. These are serotonin, dopamine,GABA, and norepinephrine.
Serotonin is a chemical that gives you feelings of joy, peace, gentleness, meekness, energy during the day, great sleep at night,and less physical pain. This is the chemical that doctors usually try to assist with drugs like Zoloft or Prozac.
GABA (gamma-amino-butyric-acid), keeps us from worrying excessively and stops mood swings that could be considered bi polar.
Norepinephrine provides energy, motivation, better focus, better concentration, and improved sexual enjoyment.
Dopamine imbalances cause a person to become more paranoid, condemning, sensitive to criticism, angry, and controlling.
These chemicals work in concert together to try and keep the body and mind in balance. But sometimes there is a lack of the chemicals that the brain needs and the result is depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc.
All 4 of these chemicals are made up of 2 amino acids in our diets, tryptophan and phenylalanine.
Most have heard of tryptophan because of turkey. When you eat turkey the tryptophan in it is the chemical that makes you tired and relaxed.
During the 1980's people in the US started taking a tryptophan supplement thinking that would increase the amino acids to create more of the 4 happy chemicals. But it was pulled due to incidents of eosinophilia-myalgia, a condition that causes muscle pain and can even cause death. But who ever heard of eating turkey killing anyone? You just can't get enough of it to cause any sort of problem from ingesting turkey.
Phenylalanine is found in most protein based foods such as beef, poultry, pork, fish, milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, soy products (including soy protein isolate, soybean flour, and tofu), and certain nuts and seeds. Aspartame is also high in Phenylalanine. But too much aspartame has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats.
You can take a supplement of phenylalanine and studies have shown that supplements of this amino acid does help to reduce mild depression. But again too much of this amino acid in supplement form can cause serious side effects.
It would seem as though if there were a way to make some sort of supplement to aid the amino acids that are already there to create more of the happy chemicals that this would calm aggression and relieve anxiety but no one has come up with a way to do this yet.
This has turned into a novel and it wasn't meant to be! I was just trying to give some insight as to the physiologic nature of anger and anxiety.
xxx
Sandy
keepemlaughing
30-09-08, 23:57
Jaco, what a great analogy. I agree with you 100%.
Blessings,
Sheryl
hi
the question is can you harnass the anger to get you from A to B and be anger and anxiety free and fully functioning at the end of it?
Pooh x
My own view is anger is part of the anxiety cycle because it's repressed emotions exploding.
For instance, we feel anxious about something which keeps frightening us. We feel we can't overcome the fear so we feel trapped by it. This produces depression because we feel there's no hope which in turn causes frustration. These frustrations build up until they explode as anger which then releases all our anxiety symptoms. However, the fear hasn't actually gone so the cycle keeps repeating until the actual fears have been overcome.
Anger is a symptom of emotional stress. It's created because we feel trapped but also because we're keeping emotions within because we feel no one understands so we feel we can't release them by "talking" about how we're really feeling. Sufferers can store Alot of anger which "can" then be directed at Anyone if they touch on the issues that have caused them fear, hurt or grief in their past due to our sensitive natures. Only when we've come to terms with these issues does the anger contained within us subside. This is how counselling can help because it can help "us" to deal with "ourselves".:hugs:
eeyorelover
01-10-08, 06:13
hi
the question is can you harnass the anger to get you from A to B and be anger and anxiety free and fully functioning at the end of it?
Pooh x
No the stress that it would put your system thru would eventually cause something catastrophic like a heart attack!!
No the stress that it would put your system thru would eventually cause something catastrophic like a heart attack!!
lol cheer me up the next time I have a hissy fit
little wren
19-03-12, 11:03
Just to bump this up - came across this earlier post - thought you might be interested in it ems as you were looking to see if anger reduces anxiety x
Ok there are two ways to look at this... chemically and structurally.
Structurally function in the limbic system causes emotional responses such as rage, fear, reasoning, and impulse control. The limbic system located deep inside the brain is associated with the roots of anxiety, panic, and fear.
It is also the place where sexual desire starts. That's right guys sex really does start above the neck!!! hehe
Anyway so quite possibly one of the problems with someone who has anxiety, anger, and lack of sex drive could be that this part of the brain isn't working quite the way it is supposed to.
Chemically, there are 4 "happy" chemicals in your brain that cause a sense of calm, reason, and a feeling of ease. These are serotonin, dopamine,GABA, and norepinephrine.
Serotonin is a chemical that gives you feelings of joy, peace, gentleness, meekness, energy during the day, great sleep at night,and less physical pain. This is the chemical that doctors usually try to assist with drugs like Zoloft or Prozac.
GABA (gamma-amino-butyric-acid), keeps us from worrying excessively and stops mood swings that could be considered bi polar.
Norepinephrine provides energy, motivation, better focus, better concentration, and improved sexual enjoyment.
Dopamine imbalances cause a person to become more paranoid, condemning, sensitive to criticism, angry, and controlling.
These chemicals work in concert together to try and keep the body and mind in balance. But sometimes there is a lack of the chemicals that the brain needs and the result is depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc.
All 4 of these chemicals are made up of 2 amino acids in our diets, tryptophan and phenylalanine.
Most have heard of tryptophan because of turkey. When you eat turkey the tryptophan in it is the chemical that makes you tired and relaxed.
During the 1980's people in the US started taking a tryptophan supplement thinking that would increase the amino acids to create more of the 4 happy chemicals. But it was pulled due to incidents of eosinophilia-myalgia, a condition that causes muscle pain and can even cause death. But who ever heard of eating turkey killing anyone? You just can't get enough of it to cause any sort of problem from ingesting turkey.
Phenylalanine is found in most protein based foods such as beef, poultry, pork, fish, milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, soy products (including soy protein isolate, soybean flour, and tofu), and certain nuts and seeds. Aspartame is also high in Phenylalanine. But too much aspartame has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats.
You can take a supplement of phenylalanine and studies have shown that supplements of this amino acid does help to reduce mild depression. But again too much of this amino acid in supplement form can cause serious side effects.
It would seem as though if there were a way to make some sort of supplement to aid the amino acids that are already there to create more of the happy chemicals that this would calm aggression and relieve anxiety but no one has come up with a way to do this yet.
This has turned into a novel and it wasn't meant to be! I was just trying to give some insight as to the physiologic nature of anger and anxiety.
xxx
Sandy
I know this was from 2008 but I just wanted to say that the highlighted section should be taken with a rather large pinch of salt.
The idea that aspartame is dangerous has been pretty much rubbished. The amounts they gave to rats was ridiculously big...and it would take something daft like 2000 litres of diet coke at one time to get the equivalent amount!
so there's no reason to avoid products with aspartame.
rubymolloy
20-03-12, 23:05
my first mental health issue was with depression many years ago and i think that depression is like an inverted anger and powerlessness, that is what caused it in me.
I now suffer with chronic and crippling anxiety and it is only anger that get me through it.
Interesting thread.
Ruby
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