Anger is a healthy human emotion, but if your anger continuously gets the best of you and leads to unhealthy decisions, you might benefit from anger management therapy. Mike Swinchoski, LMHC, at Brighter Life Therapy, PLLC, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, offers individual and group anger management therapy to help you learn to recognize the early signs of anger and take action to calm down and address your emotions productively. Call Brighter Life Therapy, PLLC, or schedule a consultation online today to learn how anger management can help you.
Anger management is a therapeutic process that teaches you how to cope with anger. During anger management therapy, you learn to recognize the warning signs that you’re getting angry.
Then you learn and practice strategies to calm yourself down and deal with the situation in a productive way.
Many patients initially think that anger management stops you from feeling or expressing anger. Keeping your emotions bottled up is never the answer. Many angry outbursts occur because you’ve been trying to keep your anger inside.
Eventually, something pushes you over your threshold, and you have an uncontrolled angry outburst.
Anger management teaches you to respond to the earliest signs of anger and express your emotions before they become overwhelming.
Some of the signs that you might benefit from anger management include:
You might also withdraw socially or start to go out of your way to avoid situations that trigger your anger or fears about your anger. You might also experience physical symptoms like muscle tension, tingling sensations, or increased blood pressure or heart rate.
Anger and uncontrollable outbursts are common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Brighter Life Therapy, PLLC, incorporates anger management with psychotherapy for PTSD when needed.
You begin by talking about your life, what makes you angry, and how you express your anger. Your therapist asks questions to help you think about why certain situations make you mad and examine your responses.
As you gain insight into your anger triggers and your early warning signs of anger, your therapist teaches you techniques that help you stay calm while feeling anger. You build on these skills by practicing expressing your emotions healthily and productively.
In addition to individual anger management therapy, Brighter Life Therapy, PLLC, offers anger management group therapy.
Group therapy helps dissolve feelings of isolation as you discover that other people are facing the same challenges. You and your group support each other and learn from each other’s experiences.
If you’re troubled by angry outbursts, call Brighter Life Therapy, PLLC, or make an appointment online today to find out how anger management therapy can improve your quality of life.