Is Your Anger a Result of Anxiety? | 5 Ways To Tell

1. Under The Surface

Feelings of anxiety can be subconscious for many of us that have been dealing with them for a long time.

When anxiety goes unchecked for long enough, it can turn into frustration, which can then easily snowball into anger.

When we're anxious, our bodies go into "hyper-vigilance mode" making us extra sensitive to outside stimuli. When this happens, even "small" events like the line at the store being "too long" can feel extremely irritating.

2. Sleep Deprivation

Those with anxiety many times have difficulty falling or staying asleep resulting in not getting enough of it.

If someone is sleep deprived due to anxiety, and then is triggered by something during the day, they may become more upset than what would be considered "typical" due to feeling that underlying fear or panic mixed with the frustration of being tired.

3. Fight Mode

When someone feels threatened their fight or flight response kicks in, making them go into "defense mode", which sometimes means fighting.

Many times those with anxiety feel threatened often, experiencing symptoms of increased hear-rate, clamminess, and racing thoughts. Once this part of the brain has been activated, the body might automatically assume fight mode, making anger a common go-to for protection.

4. Control

When anxiety turns to anger, it can be because someone who expresses anger has an underlying fear about something in their life. When someone is scared or worried about something (and feels out of control), they often unconsciously choose anger as a way to feel in control again.

5. Outbursts

If you find yourself getting upset over seemingly "small things", try keeping a journal and reflect on why the reaction may have occurred. Ask yourself if there might be any feelings of fear or panic underneath the angry response.

Once you've done some self-reflection, counseling can be a great next step for many people experiencing anxiety and anger to find coping tools to help deal with the root anxiety, and therefore helping with anger as well.

Read more about how anger can be correlated with anxiety here.

Read our blog post where we talk about 3 ways to help manage anger here.

Watch our video where we talk more about why you might have anxiety and what to do about it:

Could counseling for anxiety and/or anger management be right for you?

Or check out how we can help here.