Bouts of rage: causes, methods of treatment, advice from psychologists

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

People are capable of experiencing a huge range of feelings, both positive and negative. States of sadness, irritation, apathy are familiar to everyone. Of course, I would like to always be in a good mood and never experience unpleasant emotions, but in real life, in society, this is impossible. No one is immune from negative emotions. Things that irritate any average person can happen at any moment - long queues in the store, the Internet not working, misunderstanding on the part of the interlocutor - we are faced with this every day. Especially in a dialogue with an interlocutor, everyone sooner or later finds themselves in a situation where something does not suit them in what is happening, the conversation begins to turn into a discussion, tension between the speakers grows.

Everyone struggles with stressful situations in different ways, looking for possible ways out of it, and one of these ways for many is anger. There is no person who would neverexperienced, right? In some cases, everyone is capable of showing aggression, and in rare situations this is even the only right decision. But when emotions get out of our control, when anger and rage are so strong that they guide our actions, this can harm the people around us, our relationships with them, and, first of all, ourselves and our he alth, both physical and moral.

In a heated state, people change beyond recognition, they can frighten, upset, or in a fit of uncontrollable anger even cause physical damage to another person. At such moments, all the worst sides are manifested, which, of course, causes a negative reaction from others. Perhaps you are familiar with the situation when you, without committing any provocative actions, cause aggression on the part of the interlocutor. It is always unpleasant when a person breaks down on you, it would seem, because of some minor detail. In such a situation, you should not blame yourself, because, most likely, the problem is not in your actions or words, but in the emotional state of your opponent. Unexpectedly manifested aggression, which a person is not able to restrain, is commonly called a fit of rage. Emotions that are stronger than common sense and self-control find a way out and splash out on others at the most unpredictable moments.

Uncontrollable fits of rage happen to almost all people, regardless of gender, age, character or social status. There are no people who always behave calmly and balanced, but the constant manifestation of aggressionunacceptable by society. A person suffering from fits of rage and pouring negativity on people close to him often regrets the consequences of his anger. And you should not consider such incidents as the norm, because they can be a signal of serious problems with the moral or physical he alth of a person. Negative emotions, especially anger, have a very negative effect on the state of the body and never arise without existing reasons. People who often show aggression will be more susceptible to all kinds of diseases than members of society who are positive towards themselves and others. If you notice excessive irritability behind you, a desire to yell at your interlocutor, or often behave inappropriately, then you should think, perhaps the problem is not outside, but inside you and requires immediate intervention.

Signs of a fit of rage

In the heat of emotions, the appearance of people changes greatly, and uncontrolled anger will be clearly visible in the changes on the face of a person. Timely recognition of an attack can enable nearby people to prevent it and avoid the devastating consequences of rage. You don't need to be highly trained in psychology to recognize the following changes in a person's appearance:

• dilated eyes and pupils;
• eyebrows lowered, reduced to the bridge of the nose;
• expanded wings of the nose;
• facial redness;
• formation of a crease on the bridge of the nose and nasolabial fold;
• bloated blood vessels.

Possiblecauses of aggression

Each person may have their own individual reasons for rage attacks. Anger, like other emotions, not finding a way out at the right time, accumulates and can result unpredictably at any other moment. Often even the most insignificant trifle can become an impetus for the manifestation of feelings stored inside for a long time. Most often, aggression is manifested during a conversation - the words of the interlocutor may not please the person for some reason, cause negative emotions that will lead to a breakdown. But usually people get angry if someone manages to hurt them "to the quick": for example, when their vanity or pride is infringed, or the dignity of people close to them is insulted.

Fatigue

A person who is often tired or under stress for a long time can be pissed off by any household trifle, because due to the problems surrounding him, he becomes emotionally unstable. People who have a tense, both mentally and physically, work or work with increased moral responsibility are highly prone to disruptions in the emotional background. The nervous system in such cases endures a very heavy load and produces a "discharge" through outbursts of uncontrolled anger.

Environment

A person's feelings are strongly influenced by the immediate environment - family, friends, colleagues. If you are surrounded by irritable or conflicting people most of the time, then you are exposed to negative emotions that affect your mental he alth and are likely to lead to a nervous breakdown sooner or later. To protect yourself from possible emotional disruptions, do not answerto the aggression of others with irritability, be a model of calmness and poise. Try to understand the interlocutor, suddenly his unreasonable rage is due to some serious problems in life.

Diseases

The moral state of a person is greatly influenced by sleep and food intake. A person who is often tired due to lack of sleep will be more aggressive towards others. Proper nutrition also plays a significant role in behavior. Due to the lack or excess of certain substances received by the body with food, a person may manifest all sorts of mental abnormalities, leading to uncontrolled outbursts of anger.

People who have endured cardiovascular disease are often prone to aggressive behavior. For example, a survivor of a stroke or myocardial infarction may experience violent outbursts for the rest of his life. During the period of taking any medications, unexpectedly arising rage can be a kind of side effect. But at the end of the course, as a rule, such an effect ceases to influence human behavior.

Latent mental illness plays a huge role in human behavior. People with depression, bipolar disorder, Asperger's syndrome, dissociative identity disorder (split personality) often experience uncontrolled outbreaks of rabies.

Habits and character

Prone to destructive addictions (alcohol, nicotine,drug addiction) people often do not control their behavior. Accordingly, they will be more prone to unreasonable manifestations of aggression. People who lead a he althy lifestyle, who have hobbies and hobbies, who prefer a positive outlook on life, are not prone to unpredictable outbursts of rage.

Also, the type of human temperament can be the cause of bouts of rage and anger. Temperament lays the basic model of behavior and character of a person. Phlegmatic people show incredible calmness in many situations, and choleric people, for example, are more prone to bouts of rage and anger than other people. Sanguine people can also be prone to outbursts of aggression. Hot-tempered people rarely control their emotions; any deviation from their presentation of the situation can anger them. Outbursts of rage are characteristic of insecure, low self-esteem people. In this case, splashing out negative emotions on others is just an attempt to assert oneself.

Aggression in men

Uncontrolled outbursts of anger in the male half of the population may occur more often than in the female - the behavior of today's men is due to the inheritance of their ancestors. Since ancient times, men had to protect their family and territory, fight for survival, and aggressive behavior greatly contributed to this. However, in our time, people do not have to take care of the issues of life in this way, so the need for constant attacks on others has disappeared. But most men still have a hot temper to this day. They are,certainly more resistant to stressful situations and more emotionally stable than women, but it is quite easy to infuriate even the most balanced man. As a result, uncontrolled fits of rage and anger in men occur much more often. There can be many reasons for this, and they can arise due to violations in the physical he alth of a person, but psychologists attribute attacks of rage in men to problems in the psychological sphere.

Bouts of rage in men are manifested differently than in women - in addition to raising the volume of the voice, a man can also use brute force. Often, anger is manifested due to violations in the hormonal component of the body, for example, with an excess of testosterone and adrenaline or a lack of serotonin and dopamine. Outbursts of anger can be symptoms of illnesses such as fever, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or bipolar disorder. It is believed that married men are less likely to be aggressive, but there are exceptions here too. If good relations have been established in your family and home life does not cause negative emotions in your husband, but in matters of intimacy in your couple there are problems, then sexual dissatisfaction can also be the cause of the husband’s rage attacks.

Aggression in women

Despite the fact that the fair sex, mainly due to the variability of their emotional background, is characterized by deviant behavior, attacks of rage in women who do not have he alth problems happen quite rarely. A woman's mood changes quite often during the day, and slight irritation oreven the smallest detail can cause discontent, but girls are not capable of constant manifestation of strong aggression. Usually they tend to correctly assess and analyze the situation, and therefore they are less likely to find reasons for serious conflicts. However, women are very sensitive when someone hurts their feelings. Attacks of rage and anger in them, although they occur less frequently than in men, are more destructive and have very serious consequences for their psychological he alth.

During a fit of rage, women usually go into hysterics, turn to screaming, use insults towards the interlocutor, occasionally using brute force. The causes of attacks of rage in women lie in all sorts of physiological and somatic diseases or deviations. A banal metabolic or sleep disorder, frequent exposure to stress can become the basis for uncontrolled outbursts of aggression. The behavior of girls is greatly influenced by the hormonal component of the body. For example, during menstruation, when more hormones are released in the body, many women showed more aggressive behavior than on other days. The deviation of behavior in pregnant women due to hormonal instability can be especially pronounced. Also, post-traumatic syndrome, especially in the later stages, postpartum depression or endocrine and vascular diseases are often the cause of attacks of rage and anger. Oncologists consider unreasonable outbursts of anger in women one of the symptoms of the formation of a head tumor.

Aggression in children

Physically and mentally he althy children, although often in an agitated state and very active most of the time, the child should not have fits of rage. The state of hysteria will have a very negative impact on the he alth of the baby in the future. Frequent bouts of rage and anger may indicate a disorder in the body, such as hyperactivity. Punishment or the application of any sanctions against the child is useless, it will only aggravate his condition. A strict attitude, and even more so screams during a tantrum, will cause excessive fear, which in the future will turn the child hostilely against his parents. Children are not morally protected, many emotions are new to them, and when a child feels bad, he expects support from his relatives.

The surest and only way out in the fight against fits of rage and aggression in children is to console at the right time, and when emotions subside, explain to the child why it is impossible to express one's feelings in this way. Anger attacks have a wave-like structure, and parental intervention is required either at the moment of an increase in emotions that have not yet reached their peak, or in the process of their decrease. If tantrums happen with unenviable constancy - look for a problem in the behavior of the adults around him. Children tend to copy the behavior and emotions of people nearby, that is, if adults in the family resolve their issues through aggression, then the child will consider the manifestation of anger to be the norm. In addition, outbursts of aggression in children may be due to developing mental illnesses such as Asperger's syndrome orschizophrenia.

Fighting rage attacks

You need to monitor your condition and immediately notice if the situation is getting out of control. Psychologists recommend that you first identify the factors that negatively affect your morale and avoid them in the future. If, nevertheless, the cause of the fit of rage cannot be found or it is impossible to get rid of it, then it is worth regularly taking actions that help you throw out the accumulated emotions. For example, do some physical exercise. You can also try to be distracted by some side business: mental stress, music, the development of fine motor skills concentrate attention, soothe anger. Try to transform your negative energy. Get into constant habits - take care of the house, embroider, draw - in short, perform a certain series of sequential actions that positively affect your morale.

Your emotional state strongly depends on the type of your activity. If your job doesn’t suit you or when you come home you feel like a squeezed lemon, you should consider changing your profession. Or at least give yourself a little vacation - maybe your nervous system just needs a break from the routine.

If anger was caused by a quarrel or unacceptable behavior of the interlocutor for you - just try to talk with your opponent, discuss aspects that do not suit both of you - so you will come to an agreement and calm your feelings. In any case, a conversation will be more effective than shouting, try to understand the interlocutor, perhaps inin the midst of an argument, you did not notice that it was you who were wrong.

Before looking for the cause of fits of rage, you should calm down, switch to something else that does not concern the topic that has inflamed you - psychologists say that it is completely useless to deal with the problem and try to introspect your state "on a hot head". In order for uninvited emotions not to take you by surprise, try to maintain a proper sleep pattern and regularly eat he althy food. If you have any addictions, such as nicotine or alcohol, you should get rid of them. However, if sudden fits of rage happen to you or your loved ones on a regular basis, and you are unable to pacify the raging emotions until they recede on their own, you should immediately consult a doctor.