People are familiar with mania & depression as it relates to bipolar. However, anger is a very common symptom. Learn some basics in this VLOG.
Hello, my name is Gabe Howard with bphope.com and the bipolar magazine on-line vlogging community. Today’s video blog is about bipolar anger and bipolar rage.
First off, anger is a healthy emotion, and everybody has it. But bipolar anger and bipolar rage is sort of an extra level. For one thing, there is an element of it that is uncontrollable.
It comes on suddenly and, in most cases, dissipates just as quickly. It doesn’t necessarily need a trigger, or a trigger that is reasonable.
I kind of describe it like road rage, sometimes. You know, somebody cuts you off and, in the grand scheme of things, that person is just trying to get home, as well. But people just get very, very angry about that. Like their families have been insulted because a car is in front of them in traffic.
Bipolar anger and bipolar rage work like that. It’s sudden! You just snap into it, and you don’t even completely understand why. There are some calming techniques that you can do when this happens. First off we want to do everything we can to avoid it ever happening. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
When it does happen, we want to document it. We want to make sure that we are letting our practitioners know that we are experiencing what really amounts to uncontrollable anger. But when we are in the throes of it, remember to listen to others. If somebody tells you that you are being unreasonable, that you are unreasonably angry, take a break. Call a time out, move to another room, calm down. Whatever you are angry at, even if it is legitimate, will be waiting for you when you are done. Also remember we just have this way of zooming right out of it. One minute we are ANGRY, and the next minute, we are like, “Oh, it’s cool.”
How Others React to Bipolar Anger & Rage
But you need to remember that the people around you are not going to calm down that quickly. This type of anger and this type of rage are scary to other people. And really, it should be scary to us, as well. And when we are operating on all cylinders and when we look back at it, it is scary. So it is important that we make amends for these things, as well. If you involve somebody because you were angry at them, think back and remember and say, “Hey, I’m sorry for what happened.”
Okay, we always like to assign homework. Today’s homework: Share what you have done when you have found yourself in the middle of a bipolar anger and/or rage episode and what you have done to calm down. And as a bonus question, talk about some of the ways you have made amends to the people who unfortunately got swept up in this unfortunate business.
My name is Gabe Howard, and for bphope.com and the bipolar magazine on-line vlogging community, we will see you next time! Thanks!
Gabe Howard is a professional speaker, writer, and advocate who lives with bipolar and anxiety disorders. He has made it his mission to change the way society reacts to mental illness. He is an award winning blogger and the creator of the official bipolar T-shirt. (Get yours now!) Interested in working with Gabe or learning more? He can be reached on Facebook, via email, or on his website, www.GabeHoward.com.
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