Anxiety and rage: can anxiety make you angry?

Anxiety and rage are correlated to each other. Our emotions flow into each other and don't exist in isolation. These two emotions are often seen as seen on the opposite sides of the emotional continuum. Every emotion has an action tendency. This means that every time, you experience an emotion you take an action.

Anxiety is an intense worry which can have specific or general triggers. When we experience it, we want to hide away, not face the triggers. Whereas, we experience anger when our need is not met or something disturbs us. This makes us move towards the person, experience, or thing. How are these seemingly opposite emotions then correlated to each other?

All emotions are connected in some ways. (Image via Rawpixel/ rawpixel)

Anxiety and rage: Understanding the inter-connected relationship

Anger and anxiety go hand in hand. (Image via Vecteezy/ Benis Arapovic)

Anxiety is overwhelming, to the extent that it can make you angry. There are many triggers for anxiety, and sometimes they can be emotions. The relationship between anxiety and rage is bi-directional and goes both ways. For instance, think about your own set of emotions and which ones make you feel particularly anxious. Many individuals report feeling anxious, if the primary emotion they are feeling is guilt, and for some others it is anger.

Rage is also associated with feeling other emotions, such as frustration, sadness, guilt, and many more. Do you cry when angry? As you continue to feel overwhelmed, you may feel increasingly feel sensitive and vulnerable to feeling other emotions.

Being angry and anxious at the same time can be confusing and yet a very typical response. (Image via Freepik/ Freepik)

Naturally, any one would be reactive or feel irritable during this vulnerability. If you have ever interacted with dogs closely, you'll know that they become especially aggressive, when they are feeling sensitive or scared. The same goes for humans, we fight when we can't flee anymore.

You are particularly to feel more angry, if the the anxious thoughts go unadressed for a long time. It can almost feel like a pressure cooker. The frustration of not addressing these worries, can turn into rage.

However, this comes to a full-cycle when the rage goes away. Suddenly, you are hit with a wave of anxiety and guilt of reacting in a particular way. The cycle can go on like this, if you choose not to address it. Initally, it can be draining and confusing to understand this connection. However, with therapy, you can learn to manage better. Which therapy should you go ahead with?

Learning to manage emotions with anger management therapy

You can slowly learn to process your emotions and manage behavior through therapy. (Image via Vecteezy/ Nath)

Have you been seeing red for a long time and are looking for help? There may not be one therapy that you have to opt for, but you may benefit by turning towards anger management therapy. While anger is an essential emotion, when it turns into rage, we need to seek assistance and support.

A mental health professional will initially orient you to identifying that one of the triggers for your rage is anxiety. It can also be vice versa. You may find that your anger is the trigger for your anxiety. As you start identifying triggers, they may help you in seeing the manifestation in everyday life. We often miss out on the cues that launch our emotions.

Rage is not the same as anger and a therapist will help you learn healthy ways of expressing your emotions. Storing or supressing your emotions is not a great way to handle your rage, which we end up doing a lot of times. There are many ways to deal, without suppressing your emotions.

Perhaps, engaging in stress reductions techniques can also give you more confidence in dealing with emotions. More than sending away your emotions, try to think of these as being integral to who you are and their importance for your well-being.

Many wonder how to control anger? Many wonder how to control anxiety? Often forgetting that we are emotional beings connected with strings of different emotions. Anger is protective, but rage can be destructive for you and relationships around you.

The tango between anxiety and range is not an easy one and you may have difficulty in managing both of them at the same time. One of the key elements in managing these emotions is breaking the cycle between the two. You are not the only one struggling to dance with anxiety and rage. You can learn to do the tango!

Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a Master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.

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