HELP - RAGE - Don't know where to post

[Angelai]

I didn't know where to put this, but this forum is the most active so sorry if I'm in completely the wrong place!

I just wrote a reply to another post, including this in my post:

I'm having these really scary flashes of anger/rage. A couple of days ago, I was putting my hair into a ponytail, and it wouldn't GO. I completely lost the plot, snapped 2 hair bands, wanted to hack all my hair off and slam my face in to the mirror. I didn't do any of those things, just raged and slammed around for a bit, then cried a lot in frustration.

About half an hour ago, I found myself screaming obscenities at a learner motorcyclist who was riding like a complete f*****g t**t, and wanting to run after him down the street to kick him off his bike. This is not good :wacko:. I'm suddenly remembering all the 'moments' I've had in the past, and realising that even if the sertraline didn't rid me of anxiety, it did keep my rage at bay!

Sorry, didn't mean to go on - have you experienced anything like this? I'm wondering if I should mention it to my doctor, I've read that if you start getting irritable/angry(!) whilst coming off these pills, you should report it. On the other hand, I've been like this in the past so maybe it's just me returning to me...

I stopped taking setraline 9 days ago, after approx 2 years, cold turkey. I'm really starting to worry about this rage!

Any advice would be most welcome!

I better go before I chuck this laptop out of the window for having a far-too-sensitive touch pad... and now i can't get the b****y italics off arghhhhhh

[mummyto4]

I am the same... well almost, I,ve not wanted to smash my face in the mirror or cut all my hair off but my 'rage' has gotten worse as I have gotten older. Age has made me much less tolerant of some people! We have a seriously over populated country so its easy to want to 'rage' at some of the idiots on the road these days lol. Seriously tho, if medication has said you should report incidencies of this type of behaviour then maybe you should let your gp know. The good thing is that you are aware of it happening and aren't just losing it without recognising it if you know what I mean.
xx

[countrygirl]

Most people would not go cold turkey off these type of meds but cut down very gradually - I would imagine your rage is direct result of going cold turkey. Please get back to your Dr pronto as these side effects could be harmful to yourself or others. Its just not worth the risk of you thumping someone and ending up with a criminal record.
You don't say why you are going cold turkey or whether this is under a Drs supervision or not???????

[Meewah]

Sorry not sure if Meds should be used to control your frustrations. I feel therapy or anger management could help. I can understand when I am in a situation when I can blow up and I will watch out for the warning signs and then remove myself from that situation. It is natural to feel angry when you feel loss of control in any situation. Anxiety totally consumes you and is very frustrating. It can be very easy to blame yourself and take it out on yourself. It can be very easy also to blame people and situations around you.

The other day I was late for work and was livid. I was sat in a traffic jam and I was cursing at everyone around me. Then I thought I was part of the problem. I was part of the traffic jam and people were probably airing there emotions at me also. This made me laugh at the situation. We all need to learn to slow things down. Learning patience is a valuable tool but in a world that dictates that we run about all day from task to task it is normal to lose control.

Take a long hard look at your life and make the adjustments.

Take a look at this website:-
http://www.angermanage.co.uk/

Mee

[Angelai]

Thanks, guys - it's good to get other perspectives.

With regards to coming off the meds - basically, I went to get a new strip out of the cupboard Saturday before last - and there wasn't one. I knew I would have to wait 'til Monday before I could even order a repeat prescription so just accepted that I would feel odd for a couple of days. I was due to see my doc on the Wednesday for something else, so decided I might as well get a prescription then (it takes 3-4 days for a repeat to be ready, so I wasn't losing anything). I told my doc that I hadn't taken a pill since the Friday before, she asked how I felt and I told her 'odd'! I said I was thinking I could just not take any more, as I'd done 4 days already. She said that wasn't ideal, but if I wanted to try it then ok. She said 'be very careful', whatever that means, and made me take a prescription anyway, just in case.

So, stopping cold turkey was my idea, but my doc didn't tell me not to. In the past, it's taken about 3 months to wean off - and about another 3 months for me to crash and burn :weep: . I know it's really not a good idea to do it this way, but I actually feel ok at the moment (apart from the rage).

I just get these phases where I want everyone to 'go away'/stop looking at me or judging me, and to stop behaving like complete a******s and show some respect to their fellow man. Pot, kettle, black, I know :shrug: . I suppose that's the root of it - I feel patronised, like I'm doing something wrong, and it makes me soooo angry. So I need to start addressing my inferiority complex, as well as my anger.

Sorry to go on.... I've lost what I wanted to actually say now, but thank you again xx