Alcoholism & Anger Management: Mental Health & Addiction

Shame and guilt surrounding past events can often morph into anger. Feeling regretful can cause us to self-isolate or get defensive. If our past drinking habits have hurt those around us, we might be angry with ourselves, and act with anger towards others as a result. Unable to control your drinking – you crave a drink every day and when you start you find it difficult to stop. Understanding your own drinking habits will help you recognize where you might need to change your habits. Hazardous drinking – when there is a risk of physical or psychological harm. Hazardous drinkers regularly exceed the daily limit and often drink large amounts at a time, which is known as binge drinking.

• Once you identify you’re feeling lonely, you can take steps to get connected, whether it be calling a friend or joining a support group.
• These groups are designed to help those struggling with alcohol addiction overcome the consequences of their condition – including being able to control their angry responses.
• In order to ease the effects of withdrawal, substance abuse specialists at treatment facilities will usually create a plan to help them detox more comfortably.
• Therapy assisted him in recognizing how past wounds contributed to his vulnerability to both anger and alcohol use.
• Whether they drink one or one too many, they typically don’t struggle with feeling intense anger while they’re drinking.

Kodl MM, Fu SS, Willenbring ML, Gravely A, Nelson DB, Joseph AM. The impact of depressive symptoms on alcohol and cigarette consumption following treatment for alcohol and nicotine dependence. Deffenbacher JL, Oetting ER, Huff ME, Cornell GR, Dallager CJ. Evaluation of two cognitive-behavioral approaches to general anger reduction. Table 3 indicates the presence of higher mean score on trait anger for dependent group. The key is to take care of those feelings within yourself, to be your own friend, to be your own counselor. That is what helps you to heal; that is what actually breaks the addictive cycle. You don’t engage in excessive drinking or drugs and do things that you don’t want to do. In the Anger, Hurt, Loving model, anxiety is depicted by the up and down arrows between the anger that we refuse to feel and hurt that we refuse to feel.

Typical Risk Factors for Alcohol-Related Aggression

When a situation doesn’t match up with our preconceived expectations, we can get easily frustrated. Becoming angry can feel like a way to regain control, because it’s an emotion in our power. To avoid reacting with anger, it’s important to identify what is and isn’t in our control, and manage our expectations accordingly. Acceptance can help alleviate feelings of disappointment and anger.

CBT is used to help the alcohol focus on making important behavioral changes. While hard to not take these angry outbursts to heart, it does help to look at the bigger picture. Think about bar brawls—alcohol and anger seem to go hand in hand. By this point, they seem to be unaware of their alcoholic rage actions. Lack alcoholics and anger of emotional support, social isolation, disengagement from recovery programs, and not treating co-occurring disorders can contribute to dry drunk syndrome. Anger is an emotion that varies from person to person and adapts to different situations. A cognitive, behavioral, and physical reaction to it happens all at once.

Who is at Risk of Becoming an “Angry Drunk?”

If this guide has revealed anything, it’s that the link between anger and alcoholism should be taken very seriously. If you find that that you are unable to control your drinking, your anger or neither – it may be time to seek out professional help to address these issues.

They are best for people who have a high motivation to recover, but cannot leave their responsibilities at home, work, or school. Most programs help set up your aftercare once you complete the inpatient portion of your treatment. People who are the closest to the alcoholic who struggled with anger often get the most abuse. You may find yourself walking on eggshells to avoid an alcohol-induced anger outburst.