Anger Management Courses & Therapy Essex

Anger is one of our most fundamental emotions, and a common, intense response to a perceived threat, pain or provocation. This evolved from our ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response, and is something that everyone experiences from time to time.

While people deal with anger in different ways, it tends to channel feelings of stress, frustration and irritation, manifesting itself in three common ways:

Outward anger is when you express your aggression to others nearby. This is often demonstrated by physical violence, shouting and swearing, or a mix of all three.

Inward anger involves directing animosity toward yourself when you are frustrated. During these incidents, you might berate yourself, withdraw from others, or even self-harm.

Passive anger is a type of aggression where you indirectly express your annoyance in a less obvious way. You might intentionally ignore others, make sarcastic comments or refuse to complete tasks.

Anger is a healthy, normal emotion that we all encounter. It has its uses in day-to-day life, and is an effective way of identifying problems, focusing on important tasks, and keeping you safe from harm.

But, while feelings of anger have their benefits, you might occasionally find it difficult to control. Usually harmless in small flashes, anger only becomes a real problem when it takes charge of your life, leading to unsustainable, destructive tendencies.

If anger is a problem for you, you might notice yourself:

• Experiencing aggressive outbursts more frequently
• Developing abusive behaviours
• Harming yourself or others around you
• Turning to drugs or alcohol to control your emotions

There are many reasons why people get angry. Perhaps you’re feeling overly stressed, struggling with the loss of a loved one, or finding it difficult to cope with a physical health problem.

Everybody has their own anger triggers. Depending on your upbringing, your past experiences, and your current situation, how you react to events and actions will be completely unique.

For example, if you were raised to hide your emotions, you might suppress your outward anger and turn these feelings inwards. Or, if you experienced a traumatic event earlier in life, like being bullied at school, this could influence how you respond to certain events.

Millions of people in the UK live with anger management issues. According to a recent report, more than 30% of those polled said they knew someone who had trouble controlling their temper, with a further 12% saying they had difficulties themselves.

However, not everyone who expresses their frustration has an anger management issue. Sometimes a stressful day at work or a traumatic event can be enough to push you to boiling point for one fleeting moment.

To determine whether you have an anger management problem, ask yourself:

Anger manifests itself in different ways for different people. If you are experiencing one or more of these signs and finding it hard to cope, speak to a qualified professional about anger management support.

When anger issues begin to take hold, it can have a significant impact on your life. You might begin to view yourself in a negative light, shattering your self-esteem and making it more difficult to accept constructive criticism.

Expressing emotions can also become more challenging, lowering your mood, and allowing mental health conditions like stress and anxiety to become a constant day-to-day presence.

Difficulty managing anger can also cloud your judgement, and encourage you to say or do things you wouldn’t normally. This can put a strain on your relationships with friends, family and colleagues, and leave a lasting impact on those around you:

• Coworkers might find it hard to be honest with you
• Friends may no longer feel comfortable in your presence
• Family members could have difficulties trusting you
• Frequent outbursts can upset your children

Anger is also a physical reaction, and a growing body of evidence suggests that high levels of aggression increases the likelihood of heart disease, stroke, and cancer, while also weakening the body’s defences against illnesses like flu and the common cold.

As we have discussed, everyone experiences flashes of hostility from time to time. But when these feelings become a daily occurrence, and have a huge influence on your life and those around you, it might be time to seek help.

While it can feel like there is nothing you can do to cool your temper, anger management counselling is a powerful course of treatment that is designed to help you develop healthy coping mechanisms to manage anger in a positive, sustainable way.

Delivered as an intervention when your feelings of frustration are becoming hard for you to control, our anger therapy sessions put you in dialogue with a qualified NHS Therapist.

Here, we will actively listen to your thoughts and feelings, and work with you so you can fully understand your frustration, developing anger management techniques for life that will allow you to regulate your emotions healthily.

Mastering the exercises and strategies we teach you will be valuable for your personal growth and put you on the path to feeling better.

Anger management therapy is not the only path towards improvement. Self-help resources are widely accessible and can be more convenient than therapy.

However, counselling takes an individual approach, offering advice that is tailored to your unique circumstances. In contrast, self-help resources typically provide more general advice intended for a wider audience.

Plus, through therapy’s person-centred approach, we can address the underlying cause of your anger. Rather than providing information on controlling your emotions in the moment, a bespoke approach equips you with conflict resolution techniques for life.

Anger management programs also allow you to talk about your thoughts and feelings in a safe, confidential space with a qualified clinician. For some, this on its own can be a great way to vent frustrations and cool tempers.

Anger management therapy uses tried-and-tested techniques to put you on the path to feeling better, even after your course of treatment comes to an end.

Improve the way you manage your emotional wellbeing

Recognising what triggers your anger can help you understand your relationship with this emotion, and change the way you think, feel and act for the better.

Better your communication skills

Learning to become more open can help you close the rift between you and your loved ones, and allow you to express your frustration in other ways than displays of aggression.

Enhance your anger coping skills

With strong anger management techniques, you can increase your resilience to these feelings and reduce how often animosity clouds your mind and judgement.

Resolve conflicts productively

Conflict has an impact on you and those around you. With intervention, you will be able to recognise when your anger is becoming a problem, and prevent conflicts from rising to the surface.

Studies suggest that around 75% of individuals who undertake anger management therapy see an improvement in their mood and ability to control their emotions.

When we asked our participants about their experience with our local mental health service for North East and South East Essex, 99% said they had confidence in their therapist, and 98.6% said they got help that mattered to them.

We hope this page has helped you better understand what anger is, when your temper can become an issue, and the pathways to treatment you can take to feel better and lead a healthier life.

Remember, everybody reacts to anger in their own unique ways, and learning how to cope and express your emotions through anger management therapy will help you make meaningful, lasting improvements to your mood.

Similarly, everyone’s path to recovery is different. If you feel you can’t control feelings of anger, Therapy For You is here for you, offering a range of pathways to help you express yourself in a calm, controlled way:

• Access one-to-one mental health support with our qualified professionals
• Find group therapy sessions in Essex with people who feel like you do
• Talk at a time to suit you with our NHS phone therapy
• Get support from the comfort of home with video call therapy
• Try ieso typed therapy to speak to a skilled therapist over text

For more information on your pathways to treatment, get in touch with us today.