Anger Management Therapist in Chicago
Anger is real, valid, and not always bad.
The world is full of injustices and a healthy response can be anger. Anger can motivate you to advocate for others or yourself; anger can help you define your boundaries; and, anger can help you find creative solutions to problems. But, uncontrollable anger can hinder your quality of life, your physical health, your professional aspirations, and your relationships.
Do any of these sound like you?
- You have explosive reactions to small events
- You get hostile when faced with insignificant irritants
- You consistently complain about and are disrespectful of authority figures
- You have a hard time calming down after you’re upset
- You use passive aggressive tactics to communicate
- You have blinding rage
- You break things or threaten harm when you’re mad
- You use verbally abusive language
- You have been told that you create problems when you’re mad
The brain responds to certain events with anger, sometimes seemingly uncontrollable anger. The emotional center of the brain (the amygdala) triggers a flight-or-fight response. This response is fast and almost immediate. It actually occurs before the rational part of the brain (the prefrontal cortex) has a chance to evaluate the situation. This can lead to feeling out of control, hijacked by emotion, and acting without thinking. Although these angry responses can feel good temporarily, they often greatly disrupt life and can lead to social anxiety, depression, loneliness, relationship problems, and stress.
Anger starts with a physical reaction in your body. Learning to recognize these physical sensations is essential to stopping the aggressive outburst. Early signs of anger might include:
- Trembling
- Racing Heart
- Extreme Alertness
- Rush of Energy
- Sweating
- Faster Breathing
- Knots in Your Stomach
- Headaches
- Nausea
Anger often hides behind, and hides, other emotions. It’s common to experience depression, anxiety, sadness, and loneliness at the same time as anger - resulting in a lack of awareness of the anger or the other emotions you are experiencing.
Past experiences with trauma or a history with others who had angry outbursts often contribute to anger problems.
Anger often feels momentarily powerful. A skilled anger therapist can help you combat the feelings of powerlessness that result from these past experiences and become empowered to respond effectively to feelings. Using trauma therapy techniques, our anger management therapists can help you to reprocess and resolve underlying trauma, thereby, decreasing anger.
Our Chicago therapists can help you go below the surface and resolve the root causes of your anger. You can feel more at peace and more capable of managing anger when it does arise.
If you’re looking for a therapist for anger management in Chicago, Tandem Psychology schedule an appointment today!
Mindfulness-based therapeutic techniques and strategies are often an important part of anger management therapy. Your anger management therapist will teach you to observe the physical manifestations of your anger (e.g., clenching jaw and fist, racing heart) when anger and angry thought patterns arise (e.g., I can’t believe that she said that. My partner is a jerk. I’m so pissed.). Mindfulness teaches us to notice these responses and observe them (e.g., Hello, anger.) rather than respond to them (e.g., slamming doors). Our therapists for anger can help you get relief and insight by incorporating mindfulness into your life.
Anger management therapy often also integrates the fundamentals of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Our perceptions of situations determine how we feel and respond. CBT focuses on the way in which we think about things to determine if our perceptions can be altered, resulting in a more pleasant emotional state and better behavior. Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), an off-shoot of CBT, can also help you to manage anger by recognizing and accepting situations that you cannot control.
Anger needs to be addressed when it controls us, instead of us controlling it. When we can’t control, or believe we can’t control, the hurtful things that we say or do when we are angry, it’s the time for anger management therapy.
When you blow up at your partner for a small annoyance, you hurt the relationship. When you yell at your colleague because you are angry, you hurt your reputation. Consistent bouts of anger can also hurt your physical health. People who lose control of their anger are more prone to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, and stroke. Engaging a skilled anger therapist can help.
Anger management therapy can help!
A skilled anger therapist can help you override impulses to act without thinking and, instead, tap into better impulses and skills to address the problem that created the anger.
We can get stuck in the same, ineffective responses to anger. Instead of blowing your stack and causing harm to yourself, your relationships, and your health - anger management therapy can help you identify your typical response to strong anger reactions.
You and your anger management therapist will be able to define new behaviors that break the cycle, calm your mind and your body, temporarily remove you from the situation until you can return with a calmer, more skillful, mind.
Traditional beliefs about masculinity complicate the experience of anger because socialized masculinity encourages emotions be ignored and repressed. Toxic masculinity teaches that recognizing and expressing true emotions is “weak,” while the expression of anger is often seen as “strong.” This leads to men’s issues with relationships, depression, sex, and anxiety, because other emotions are veiled by anger.
An anger therapist can help sort through emotions and identify the underlying emotions lying at the core of anger.
Anger doesn’t have to control your life. Our therapists for anger, use research proven methods to help you get relief and live your life to the fullest. With your therapist, you can learn to understand and control your anger - improving the quality of your relationships, your work, your reputation, and your sense of peace.
None of us like to feel out of control in our own lives. It’s bad enough to feel out of control because of factors outside of us. But when we feel out of control because of internal factors, like anger, it’s especially frustrating.
If you’ve decided that you’ve had enough of unmanaged anger and are looking for help, please schedule an in-person appointment at our Lakeview offices or a telehealth appointment to meet virtually. We have a team of exceptionally trained and experienced psychologists, social workers, and clinical counselors ready to help you manage your anger.