Drinking and Drugs Were My Anger Management Techniques

You’ve heard of the stereotypical angry drunk. Overdoing alcohol or drugs helps some people release the anger and frustration they build up inside. For others, unresolved anger problems lead to substance abuse because it helps them numb their feelings of sadness and frustration. As a result, effective rehab must provide anger management techniques for those who need it.

For many individuals, alcohol abuse occurs because they attempt to self-medicate due to some underlying mental health issue. Anger management techniques can help those who have an alcohol use disorder begin to get their drinking under control. Many mood disorders like depression or anxiety, as well as trauma, express themselves through sudden bouts of anger. Individuals will attempt to lessen these outbursts through drinking, only worsening their underlying condition and making the angry scenes worse for themselves and those around them. At Beaches Recovery, our compassionate and experienced counselors and therapists can help.

How Alcohol, Drugs, and Anger Connect

For starters, the consumption of alcohol or drugs leads you to lose inhibitions. While you would’ve never thought of telling someone off who bumps into you, you may do so at a bar. After a few drinks, you lose the ability to assess the nuances of a situation. As a result, you assume the worst of a person and act accordingly.

Alcohol and drugs take away your ability to reason verbally with another person. Instead, you act out physically, which can take the form of violence or property damage. Anger management techniques can help individuals at a higher risk of acting out during treatment when withdrawal gets going. These techniques help you control responses to stressors and stimuli.

Examining the Effectiveness of Anger Management Techniques in Rehab

Everyone gets angry at one point or another. Expressing anger appropriately is something that not everyone knows how to do. For some, it has to do with past traumas that turn anger impulses into triggers. For others, there are psychological barriers that make it difficult to handle anger and find the right way of dealing with it.

Undergoing anger management alongside therapies to stop drinking or using is crucial for lifelong sobriety. Experts in the field understand that anger is a secondary emotion that masks an underlying feeling. Fear of failure, intimacy, loss of control, or abandonment might be at the root of anger. In some cases, the rage that targets another stems from frustration with yourself.

When you go through rehab, you learn how to stop using alcohol or drugs to respond to stressors. Therapies include:

• Group therapy helps you build peer group bonds and lets you learn from others’ experiences
• One-on-one treatment for the exploration of personal trauma
• Experiential therapies that allow program participants to explore their substance abuse in non-traditional ways
• Family counseling that brings in relatives and those whom you live with for assistance and healing
• 12-Step approach for the exploration of this treatment model for program participants wanting to learn more

Adding anger management techniques is a valuable tool for recovery. They assist clients in labeling the emotions that are underneath the feelings of resentment or frustration. Next, these techniques help you develop self-control and avoid rage-filled outbursts that alienate others and lead to stress. In the process, it results in personal growth, the development of self-esteem, and the application of stress-relief techniques.

Reach out for Help with a Drug or Alcohol Problem

Are you ready to become the person you’re destined to be? Don’t allow another day to slip by in a fog of drug or alcohol use. Instead, reach out to the expert therapists at Beaches Recovery. Call 866.605.0532 today for help with any substance abuse.