Anxiety & anger: what’s the link?

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Anxiety and anger are linked primarily because there are some common thought pathways that lead from anxious feelings to anger, as well as some biological anger tendencies in people who feel anxious. It is very easy for feelings of worry to turn into anger if the worried person takes the wrong viewpoint, which can often happen out of frustration or despair. Additionally, worried people are often dealing with hormonal responses that could make them prone to rapid mood swings. There are also some practical issues of daily life and health that often link anxiety and anger.

In many cases, anxiety turns into anger when a person feels like everything is going wrong in their life and becomes frustrated. For example, if a person loses a wallet with a lot of money in it, their first reaction may be fear or even panic. Suddenly, he has no money to pay the bills or buy the items he needs. It is very easy for initial anxiety to turn into anger. He may feel angry at himself for losing his wallet and may even feel that his entire existence has turned against him, leading to a general feeling of anger towards everyone and everything around him. This general feeling of anger can cause him to lash out at people with very little provocation.

Another way to link anxiety and anger is through the basic biology of the body’s hormonal responses. In the above example of the individual with the missing wallet, all the worry about him will likely cause his body to excrete various hormones related to the body’s fight or flight reaction. Biologically, the person is ready for something dangerous to happen, and once the body is in that kind of high-intensity state, fear can turn into anger in an instant. This hormonal jitters can potentially work hand in hand with the frustration of living with anxiety synergistically, eventually leading to bouts of intense and explosive anger.

Anxiety and anger may also be linked due to the basic practical effects anxiety has on an individual’s daily lifestyle. When people worry, it can eventually wear out their bodies. They may have trouble sleeping and may not feel like eating, which can ultimately make the person moody and constantly irritable.

Finding a way to overcome anxious feelings can potentially help a person extinguish angry feelings as well. Once an individual manages to calm down, the hormones and lifestyle changes that made the person angry should disappear. There are many medications prescribed for people with anxiety disorders that can potentially make people take a more productive view of life’s difficulties. Sometimes a psychotherapist can also be helpful in these situations by teaching an individual various ways to deal with feelings of fear before these feelings have a chance to turn into anger and by showing a person how to recognize and short-circuit the triggers in the mind that lead from anxiety to anger.

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