Should You Seek Treatment For Your Angry Outbursts?

Do you suffer from sudden episodes of impulsive or explosive aggression? Do you sometimes react to situations in a manner which is out of proportion and out of character?

Maybe you get yourself involved in incidents of road rage, domestic abuse or simply screaming at the people you love? If so, this is likely causing significant distress and upset to you and those around you, you might want to think about seeking professional help.

Symptoms of intermittent explosive responses:

You may find that you suddenly erupt in anger, and while the anger usually subsides after half an hour or so, the episode may be very intense and may even occur often. For some, episodes are less frequent but no less severe.

Others may find that they are almost always irritable, impulsive and aggressive. Some episodes of aggression may follow, or be accompanied by rage, racing thoughts, tingling and even tremors or a tightening of the chest.

During an explosive, angry episode, the person may rant and rave, have a tantrum, cause damage to property, or even slap, shove or push another person or persons. For some, there is a feeling of relief or intense tiredness after the outburst, and they may feel embarrassed or regretful afterwards.

What can cause an angry outburst?

While more common in younger than older adults, the exact cause of intermittent explosive responses is not fully understood, but experts believe that several environmental and biological factors come into play. Of course, as with many mental health issues, there can be a variety of different causes for a variety of different people.

Seeking professional help to prevent your disorder from getting out of control:

Angry outbursts may go much further than merely being embarrassing for the perpetrator; the individual may cause harm to themselves, others or property, and there is always the risk of irreversible relational damage during an angry outburst.

So, seeking help to prevent your anger from getting out of control is essential for your sake, and the sake of those around you, and when combined with the following guidelines, there’s every chance you’ll go on to curb your feelings of anger:

• Persevering with treatment

Go to your therapy sessions as regularly as your healthcare professional instructs.

• Try relaxation techniques

Deep breathing and relaxing imagery or yoga may help

• Retrain your brain

Cognitive restructuring can help you to change the way you think about, and react to, certain situations, using rational thought and reasonable explanations. Your therapist can help you here.

• Try to problem-solve

Try to construct a plan in your mind to help you deal with a frustrating problem. Again, feel free to ask your mental health provider for help here.

• Improve the way in which you communicate with others

Try to listen more, and then be patient with your response instead of reacting impulsively (and avoid saying the first thing that comes into your mind when someone is talking to you).

• Leave or avoid situations that may encourage anger

If possible, walk away from a situation that is threatening to make you angry or to which you worry that your response may not be rational.

• Don’t take mood-altering substances

Alcohol or illicit drugs often serves only to exacerbate any mental health condition, so using them is very unlikely to help you overcome angry outbursts.

If your angry outbursts are causing distress to you or those close to you, then it may be time to seek professional help. Doing so will help you alleviate your anger and teach you how better to manage your emotions when times are tough, something that we doubtless all can learn how to do better!

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Does Your Child Have An Unhealthy Relationship With Food?

Eating disorders are becoming more and more common among kids and teenagers these days, and for a variety of different reasons. However, while some of these reasons may be the same ones that affected young people decades ago, it’s safe to say that a growing number of them are a consequence of the times. In an era of cyber bullying and social media pressures, some young people scrutinize their lives and are overly critical of every action they undertake. More of them are turning to, or away from, food in efforts to have more control over a world that they sometimes feel they have no place in.

What are the most common eating disorders among young people?

Some eating disorders can cause kids and teens to make dramatic changes to what, and how often, they eat, and can lead to any number of life-threatening conditions and/or irrevocable damage to their bodies. Here are the 3 most common eating disorders among young people today:

Anorexia: where the sufferer refuses to consume enough calories due to an intense irrational fear of gaining weight.

Bulimia: bulimic children purposely over-eat or binge on unhealthy foods, and then attempt to eliminate it from their bodies to prevent weight gain, by vomiting or using laxatives.

Binge-eating: in a similar way to someone who is bulimic, the child will frequently gorge themselves on food, but they won’t go on to purge themselves afterwards.

In some cases, eating disorders can overlap, and the young person can have periods where they are both anorexic and bulimic, for example.

When do eating disorders commonly develop in children, and who suffers the most?

While it can vary from child to child – and some children have been known to suffer from eating disorders at a very young age – they usually develop during adolescence or when the child begins to enter adulthood. Anorexia and bulimia are far more common among females, and the figures for men suffering from binge eating are a little higher.

What causes eating disorders?

Experts typically agree that a combination of biological, behavioral and social factors can influence eating disorders, and with social media and cultural images tending to favor (and even glamorize) underweight bodies, many young people are encouraged to make food and eating choices that are detrimental to their health.

Children who suffer from eating disorders often have low self-esteem and may also experience frequent feelings of helplessness and/or distress. Coping with all these issues is tough for anyone, let alone a child, and some even turn to food as a way of trying to cope with these feelings.

Getting to the cause of the problem and seeking help to combat it is generally seen as the most effective way to control, minimize or end an eating disorder.

If you suspect that your child is suffering from an eating disorder, it’s important that you try to seek professional help for them as soon as possible. Willpower alone is not the key overcome their dangerous eating habits, and seeking treatment will not only help them to restore healthy eating habits, but will address any underlying psychological issues that your child might be experiencing.

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Could You Benefit From Psychiatric Medication Management?

The word ‘psychiatric’ can often be misinterpreted or evoke feelings of fear in those who don’t understand fully what it means, and the same can be said of ‘psychiatric medication management’. However, if you’ve been recommended for a psychiatric assessment by your doctor or therapist, understanding what that means, how a psychiatric practitioner can help you, and what psychiatric medication is, should minimize your fears and concerns.

If you have a mental health concern, a psychiatric assessment could help get you on the road to recovery, and here’s how:

Our mental health needs are just as important as our physical health needs:

Since our mental and physical health are closely linked, it makes sense that we should get both checked by professionals, as and when a problem arises. Stress and trauma can leave us feeling anxious, angry or depressed, and when these feelings go unchecked or untreated, they can lead to the manifestation of major psychological and physical illnesses or behaviors.

We know the importance of getting our physical health checked by primary care providers, but often let our mental health go unchecked. This could be due to feelings of denial, shame or embarrassment, which sadly, prohibits us from seeking the help that we need to feel better.

What happens during a psychiatric assessment?

An initial check-up will be performed by the psychiatric practitioner, in much the same way as a physical assessment would be carried out. It includes an overview of your symptoms, and a review of whether medication would be advisable to help treat your mental health issue. Rather than a physical examination, a psychiatric assessment involves a lot of talking, which in itself, may be therapeutic.

What happens after the assessment?

Your psychiatric assessor will diagnose you and recommend a treatment plan that may or may not include medication. They will discuss the plan with you in detail, along with information about the actions, uses and side effects of medication, and you’ll have an opportunity to ask as many questions as you want.

If you agree to try the medication and whatever else the treatment plan involves, then the practitioner will prescribe the medication for a trial period to enable both parties to assess and evaluate its effectiveness. This is where the term ‘medication management’ comes into play.

The medication will be reviewed based upon its effectiveness in helping to meet the goals that you and your assessor have agreed upon, and keep in mind that medications can vary in effectiveness from person to person, so what might work for you, may not work so well for someone else with the same mental health concerns.

Multi-pronged approach:

In many cases, other forms of treatment are recommended that can work in conjunction with your medication plan, such as counseling, life management skills and behavioral therapies. Your assessor will carefully monitor your progress and you’ll meet regularly to discuss how everything is going and what might need to be changed in relation to your treatment plan.

Medication is not always prescribed for patients with mental health concerns, and the benefits and side effects are weighed up carefully to minimize the risks. At every stage of your psychiatric journey, your needs will be thoroughly assessed, and medications can be altered or stopped, as and when necessary. Whatever your psychiatric needs, help is out there, and the sooner you seek it, the sooner you’ll begin to feel more in control of your life.

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Can Feelings Of Guilt Sometimes Be The Cause Of Depression?

There can be many causes of depression – each of which will vary depending on the individual – but if you’ve been feeling inexplicably low and can’t quite put your finger on why, it might be that you’re feeling guilty about something.

Guilt explained:

Guilt is when you feel embarrassed or regretful about being the reason behind a negative action or event – recent or even way back in the past – and while much of our guilt is genuine and appropriate, in some cases, such feelings can stem from something entirely different.

For example, if we’ve chosen to do something that we know we shouldn’t have, then feeling guilty and acknowledging our “wrongdoing” can be healthy; the guilt is both genuine andappropriate.

But sometimes, our guilt is created from what we perceive to be a personal failure and is an irrational and inappropriate response to an event or action past or present; you’ve judged your actions and come up with a guilty verdict when the truth is either completely different, or not as big a deal as you perceive it to be.

When we feel guilty for something that we needn’t, the feelings of guilt may encourage us to punish ourselves for what we think we have done to someone (or something) else, and these feelings can persist and cause us to feel miserable and depressed.

Recent studies have shown that the brains of individuals suffering from depression, are more prone to guilt than those whom have never suffered from depression. But how exactly does guilt go on to cause depression? And what can you do if your feelings of guilt, are making you depressed?

Negative thinking and a low mood:

Cognitive behavioral therapy that is evidence based, shows us that our emotions can be created by thoughts, and those emotions then go on to influence and cause the actions that we choose to carry out. When our thoughts are negative, they can go on to make our emotions and our actions negative, too, and when this becomes a cycle, our mood can take a nosedive and we can even become depressed.

Seeking help for your feelings of guilt and depression:

Some feelings of intense guilt can be deep rooted in our past and in our psyche and identifying and interpreting them can be next to impossible without professional help. Trying to break the control that these negative thoughts and feelings are having over your life may not be something you’re currently able to do it alone, and a qualified counselor may be your best option.

If you suspect that feelings of guilt are causing you to feel low and/or depressed, then please don’t wait until you’re at your lowest ebb before you seek help. Talking through your issues will show you that the negative relationship you currently have with yourself need not control your life.

Learn More at: heartcenteredcounselors.com

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