Addressing Anger During Addiction Treatment
By Leslie Davis
Substance abuse and anger can be a dangerous combination. Alcohol and other drugs can exacerbate a person’s aggression, and holding on to unresolved anger can lead to the use of drugs or alcohol as a way to cope.
Because of the close link between anger and substance abuse, Bayside Marin treats both issues at once to provide for a more comprehensive recovery.
“Patients can’t do anger management treatment and continue to use, and they can’t think clearly about their anger without being clean,” said Bayside Marin’s Clinical Director Pamela Alba, MA.
People who are using substances typically demonstrate anger in one of the following ways:
- They are overly aggressive, and use physical methods such as hitting, punching or kicking to get out their anger.
- They vent or express dislike.
- They avoid the source of their anger.
- They seek revenge.
- They become so cut off from their anger that it renders them unable to cope or to release their anger. This is often because people are taught that it’s unacceptable to express anger, so they may never learn how to handle it.
The treatment professionals at Bayside Marin keep any eye out for anger issues in all patients so that they can provide more comprehensive recovery services. They look at the patient’s history, perform assessments and watch behaviors for any signs of anger that need to be addressed.
Treatment of anger at Bayside Marin includes several elements:
- Individual therapy, to help patients understand and process their anger.
- Therapies that emphasize relaxation, such as yoga, acupuncture, meditation and chi gong, to help patients feel calm and more in control of their anger.
- Psychiatric medication, if necessary to treat conditions such as depression or bipolar disorder, which can make a person rationalize their behaviors.
- Anger management groups, to allow patients to discuss their issues with others facing similar struggles. There is no permanent anger management group at Bayside Marin, but one will be assembled if needed. “We are able to tailor our groups to our population because we are so small,” Alba said.
“Overall, people are receptive to anger management,” Alba continued. “It’s a good idea to wait to be clean from substances to determine what behavior is from substance abuse versus an underlying chemical imbalance or perhaps simply a lack of learned coping skills.”
Controlling Anger
Once a person has stopped using substances, it can become easier for them to control their anger – something they may have had a difficult time doing when under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Other times, they may be able to get more in touch with anger they didn’t previously feel.
One thing they become more in tune with is the physiological changes that anger creates. Anger fuels a chemical release in the body that drugs and alcohol can mask. When people are able to recognize this, they can wait until they feel calmer to think more clearly and make good decisions instead of responding immediately with anger.
“Anger is a very primal emotion, and it has a lot to do with survival and protecting oneself,” Alba said. “People need to be responsible for their behavior, even if they are using.”
Anger can have a number of negative effects. It can result in headaches, hypertension, high blood pressure, depression, gastrointestinal disorders and respiratory disorders. Anger can also get people into challenging situations, such as getting fired, being arrested or causing problems in relationships.
“The cost of unresolved anger is quite high, and that’s a real relapse trigger,” Alba said. “In addition to its many consequences, anger makes a person’s internal state intolerable and it feels horrible.”
Because anger is such a relapse trigger, it is addressed in recovery and in the 12 Steps, which encourages people to let go of resentment. “Addicts don’t have the luxury of holding onto resentment,” Alba said.
To help better manage anger and lessen the chances of substance abuse relapse, Alba offers these tips:
- Take time to calm down and assess the situation.
- Learn relaxation techniques through such activities as yoga and meditation.
- Find a way to communicate anger in a productive way.
- Refrain from thinking in black and white terms and learn to realize when anger is irrational.
- Make good life choices and get away from toxic environments (at home or at work) that create feelings of anger.
Tackling anger issues and substance abuse can be challenging, but the treatment team at Bayside Marin can effectively address both to increase the chances of a long-term recovery from addiction.
