If you are angry or hostile or if you have violent behavior, it's important to find help. Your area may have help lines you can call. Or maybe you can get help through social organizations. Check online, or ask your doctor. You can learn ways to control your feelings and actions.
Anger signals your body to prepare for a fight. This reaction is often called "fight or flight." When you get angry, adrenaline and other hormones are released into the bloodstream. Then your blood pressure goes up, your heart beats faster, and you breathe faster.
Many people mistakenly believe that anger is always a bad emotion. They think that expressing anger is not okay. But anger can be a normal response to everyday events. It's the right response to any situation that is a real threat. Anger can be a positive driving force behind our actions. Anger can also be a symptom of something else. It depends on how often a person feels angry and how angry the person feels.
Hostility is being ready for a fight all the time. Hostile people are often stubborn, impatient, hotheaded, or have an "attitude." They are often in fights. Or they may say that they feel like hitting something or someone. Hostility isolates you from other people.
Anger and constant hostility keep your blood pressure high. And they increase your chances of having another health problem, such as depression, a heart attack, or a stroke.
Teens who say they often feel angry and hostile also more often feel anxious, stressed, sad, and fatigued. They have more problems with alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, and eating disorders than teens who don't have high levels of anger.
Violent behavior often starts with verbal threats or fairly minor incidents. But over time, it can involve physical harm. This behavior is very damaging, both physically and emotionally. It can include physical, verbal, or sexual abuse of an intimate partner (domestic violence), a child (child abuse), or an older adult (elder abuse).
Violence causes more injury and death in children, teens, and young adults than infectious disease, cancer, or birth defects. Murder, suicide, and violent injury are the leading causes of death in children. Violence with guns is one of the leading causes of death of children and teens in the United States.
Many things can affect how your body responds to a symptom and what kind of care you may need. These include:
You have answered all the questions. Based on your answers, you may be able to take care of this problem at home.
The risk of a suicide attempt is highest if:
Based on your answers, you need emergency care.
Call 911 or other emergency services now.
Sometimes people don't want to call 911. They may think that their symptoms aren't serious or that they can just get someone else to drive them. Or they might be concerned about the cost. But based on your answers, the safest and quickest way for you to get the care you need is to call 911 for medical transport to the hospital.
Based on your answers, you may need care right away. The problem is likely to get worse without medical care.
Based on your answers, you may need care soon. The problem probably will not get better without medical care.
If you are angry, hostile, or violent, it's important to find help. You can learn ways to control your feelings and actions.
There are some things you can do to try to control any feelings of anger or hostility and avoid violence.
Take time to stop and cool down when you feel yourself getting angry. Count to 10, or practice some other form of mental relaxation.
Recognize feelings that often lead to angry outbursts. Anger and hostility may be a symptom of unhappy feelings or depression about your job, your relationship, or other aspects of your personal life.
Come up with a reasonable explanation of why you are angry. If a person triggers your anger, suggest to yourself that maybe the person is having a bad day.
Avoid situations that trigger your anger. For example, do errands at less-busy times if standing in line bothers you.
Explore other resources that may be available through your job or your community.
The first step to managing anger is to be more aware of it. Note the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that you have when you get angry. Practice noticing these signs of anger when you are calm. If you are more aware of the signs of anger, you can take steps to manage it. Here are a few tips:
If you are angry, hostile, or have violent behavior, it is important to find help. You can learn ways to control your feelings and actions.
Use one of the following resources if you are or know of a parent or caregiver having trouble controlling angry feelings. Actions done in moments of anger can be harmful and abusive.
Call your doctor if feelings of anger, hostility, or violent behavior occur more often or are more severe.
Current as of: February 9, 2022
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:William H. Blahd Jr. MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine & Adam Husney MD - Family Medicine & Kathleen Romito MD - Family Medicine & H. Michael O'Connor MD - Emergency Medicine & David Messenger MD - Emergency Medicine, Critical Care Medicine
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