When you feel anxious, you might experience a racing heart rate, sweaty palms, lightheadedness, an upset stomach, and persistent, negative thoughts. But underneath these prominent symptoms, you may notice anger bubbling up. Anger is an under-discussed symptom of anxiety. However, people with anxiety disorders often experience anger when situations make them nervous.
Experiencing anger in connection with anxiety can be confusing. Not only can it make your symptoms feel more intense, but you might worry about keeping your anger under control when you’re stressed out or scared. Let’s explore why it’s so common to experience anger and anxiety at the same time.
Understanding Anxiety Triggers
Sometimes, anxiety is triggered by specific people, places, or circumstances. You might encounter a trigger that reminds you of a traumatic or distressing experience. As a result, your symptoms kick into high gear.
This can also set off your anger. The trigger may bring back memories of a deeply unpleasant time, and while your anxiety acts as a warning signal based on these memories, your anger in the present moment can serve as a defense mechanism, blocking out the pain and sadness underneath.
Attempts at Control
Anxiety and anger both represent attempts to control factors that are typically outside of your control. When you are anxious, you’re thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong and wishing you could eliminate any uncertainty. In a similar fashion, when you experience anger, you’re often irritated because something happened that wasn’t in line with your expectations or desires.
Feeling anxious or angry does not mean that you’re an intensely controlling person. Everyone feels this way once in a while! However, these emotions can be so closely connected because when we try to control things outside of our grasp, frustration and stress are inevitable.
Fight or Flight Reaction
When you encounter something that makes you anxious, your body often shifts into a fight-or-flight reaction. You might feel so nervous that you want to run away from the situation. Alternatively, your body might start gearing up to “fight” the threat, causing a rush of anger.
Our fight-or-flight reaction is an evolutionary response to danger. If your mind is convinced that you could be physically harmed, you’ll naturally feel angry, even if you’re technically safe. Your mind cannot always identify an acute threat with accuracy.
Lack of Healthy Coping Mechanisms
Everyone needs healthy coping mechanisms to deal with stress. But many people turn to escapism instead. When something stresses you out, your first instinct might be a behavior that drowns out the mental noise, like watching TV, substance usage, or simply pretending that everything is fine in hopes that acting like you’re okay will erase the feelings.
However, suppressing your anxiety can transform it into anger in the long run. You might be angry at other people for treating you poorly, angry at yourself for not exiting stressful situations earlier, or angry at unfair circumstances you’ve encountered. Acknowledging and honoring the roots of your anxiety can help you soothe anger before it starts.
Frustration About Your Reaction
Maybe you occasionally feel angry at yourself for getting anxious. You might have been dealing with anxiety for a long time and wishing you could stay calm and collected during tough times. But everyone feels anxious from time to time, and if you’re trying to recover from an anxiety disorder, getting angry at yourself for experiencing symptoms will only leave you feeling worse. Anxiety is part of the human condition, and you deserve self-compassion.
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Are you struggling with a short temper due to anxiety? Connect with our therapy team to discuss our anxiety counseling options.