Anger Management for Substance Use
Anger is a powerful reaction to emotions such as worry, irritation, tension, and disappointment. Outbursts of anger can often cause damage to our relationships when we are limited in our ability to manage those emotions.
Anger mixed with substance use or alcoholism can be even worse, so once we begin our recovery and treatment process, it is critical to begin examining our triggers that produce anger responses and develop healthy ways to manage anger and expressions. Our compassionate and licensed therapists can work with individuals suffering from anger or rage by helping to identify underlying reasons and utilizing healthy changes to reactions.
We also provide services for individuals, families, groups, the LGBTQ+ community, couples, seniors, those with a dual diagnosis, individuals seeking remote telehealth services, and people seeking alternatives to incarceration.
If you have additional questions about our anger management for substance use therapy services, call us today at (718) 459-2558 or fill out the form below and we will get back to you promptly.
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Substance Use Effects on Mood & Emotions
Feeling angry is an entirely human emotion and can be great for us when expressed healthily. However, not all people have good anger management skills, and when combined with substance use, it can build up and release into outbursts. Substance use affects moods and emotions. Expressing anger in an aggressive (or passive aggressive) way can be extremely harmful to ourselves and those around us. If you or someone you know is dealing with anger and substance use, we at Rego Park Counseling are here to help.
Understanding Anger
Anger is a powerful and typically dangerous emotion characterized by feeling agitated, annoyed, displeased, or hostile. It is also often a reaction to other emotions such as worry, disappointment, or tension. Everyone can feel angry, and it is a legitimate response to certain situations. However, uncontrolled anger can damage your relationships with loved ones.
Excessive anger, or rage, occurs for various reasons. A person may be feeling this way due to fear, hatred of others or themselves, or childhood trauma. Addressing the cause of anger is essential in learning how to cope with the emotion in a healthy manner. Therapy for anger management for those with a substance use problem can help individuals suffering from rage identify underlying causes, and cope with them.
Types of Anger
There are at least three types of anger — passive aggressive, open aggression, and assertive anger. Passive anger is an avoidant type of anger, often expressed through sarcasm, mockery, or silent treatment. Out of the different kinds of anger, passive-aggressiveness is more physically and emotionally draining. Open aggression is often characterized as lashing out in rage. They become physically and verbally aggressive, close to hurting others and themselves. They usually express this through shouting, criticism, sarcasm, accusation, bullying, and fighting.
Assertive anger is controlled. The person may be angry, but they are confident, ready to listen, talk, and openly deal with the situation. It is the type of anger that helps relationships grow by being patient, understanding, and communicative. Our goal at Rego Park Counseling is to help you turn your passive-aggressiveness or open-aggressiveness anger into assertive anger. Our licensed and compassionate therapists will help you identify the reasons behind your anger and deal with the addictive behaviors that emerged from it through our substance use anger management services.
“Anger often stems from unresolved emotions like tension or disappointment. Through compassionate therapy, we help individuals identify triggers and develop healthy strategies to manage anger, fostering emotional resilience and healthier relationships.”
– Rego Park Counseling
Anger Management Strategies
It is significantly challenging to cope with emotions, but it is vital to avoid getting caught up in them. If an individual continues to avoid or bottle up their anger, it can lead to excessive outbursts that can complicate relationships. Learning anger management strategies is essential to take control of emotions and prevent them from taking a toll on your health and relations. Below are some anger management tips that can help you.
Take a Moment To Collect Your Thoughts
It’s easy to say something or do something you’ll regret later when consumed by excessive anger. Prevent this from happening by thinking for a moment before doing anything.
Express Anger Assertively
Once you are calm, try to express your anger assertively without being confrontational. Clearly and directly say what your problems are without trying to hurt or control others.
Go for a Walk or Do Physical Activity
One of the best ways to reduce stress is physical activity. It can effectively diffuse escalating emotions, so we advise that you go for a walk, run, or do other physical activities for a while.
Take a Break To Calm Down
When you feel incredibly stressed, irritated, or frustrated, allow yourself to take a time out. Have some moments of quiet to ease your mind and calm down.
Never Blame or Criticize
Blaming is one of the things that makes any situation worse. That’s why one of the strategies you can try is to stick to using “I” in your statements to put everything into perspective.
Learn To Forgive
Holding a grudge is never good for you, so we hope you can learn to let go of anger and only accept positive feelings. Talk out the problem but don’t let your rage swallow you up.
Ask for Help
The most important tip we have for managing anger is to ask for help. It is hard to learn to control anger for everyone, not just you. When it’s tough, don’t be afraid to reach out.
Contact Rego Park Counseling
Contact Us for Anger Management Counseling Services. Dealing with both anger and substance use is a challenging task, but you don’t have to go through it alone. With anger management therapy, outpatient substance use treatment, and the guidance of compassionate counselors, you can recover. We at Rego Park Counseling are confident we can provide you with the best chance at getting better. If you’re ready to take the first step towards recovery, and a happier and healthier life, it’s time to start therapy for anger management with Rego Park Counseling. Call us today for more information!
Enabling Anger for Substance Users
You may not realize it, but the people around you enable your anger expression, and it’s why you become prone to outbursts. You’re unable to express your anger healthily, so it comes out the wrong way. They do it by oversimplifying and invalidating your emotions, even though there is a legitimate reason why you are feeling that way.
The key is for you to recognize that your emotions are yours and are valid. It’s essential to find out the reason behind the anger and confront it. Otherwise, you will continue to bottle it up and it may lead to unhealthy ways of coping. For instance, it can cause you to lean on substance use and other addictive behaviors more.
Substance Use Anger Management
The substance use anger management strategies mentioned above are just some of the methods you can try on your journey not to be consumed by anger. Going for treatment, such as talk therapy, can further help. Counselors can help guide conversations and create action plans to come up with healthier expression and coping mechanisms. Anger is both an underlying issue and a symptom of substance use. With treatment, we’ll work through both issues.
Dual Diagnosis
Millions of adults in the US suffer from dual diagnosis, a condition where a person is dealing with both emotional or mental issues and substance use. Some people even turn to substance use as a way to cope with their mental illness. People with a dual diagnosis can find it especially hard to cope and recover, but it is not impossible. Our counselors are familiar with dual diagnosis and can help you through your journey to recovery.