Controlling Anger

During initial stages of abstinence, you may face situations that make you angry & resentful.

Why do alcoholics get so angry?

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Alcoholics have many unsatisfactory experiences in life. During the initial stages of abstinence, you may come across situations that make you frustrated and resentful. You have

accumulated so much anger

that it only requires the slightest provocation to set you off.

The second reason is that you have found that

anger works

and that you are conditioned to continue its use. Thus, for you anger becomes a pattern of behaviour.

Anger is expressed by acts of violence - verbal or physical. Or it keeps simmering below the surface. It burns as a silent resentment. Sarcasm and abrasive humour are also expressions of this bitterness. It corrodes you until nothing is left but a raw-edged hole. Sometimes, suicide might seem as the only way out.

The Attitudes Anger Helps Create

Feelings	Expressions
Disappointment	"I’m heart broken." "It’s all so upsetting…"
Depression	"I feel like killing myself." "Wish I were dead."
Silent Resentment	No obvious reactions
Sarcasm	"How smart of you" (meaning quite the opposite)
Self Pity	"Why me?" "Only I suffer so much…"

Unfortunately anger not only affects people around you, but also manifests physically in you.

Physical Signs	Behavioural Signs
Headache	Verbal Abuse
Stiffness	Violence
Lack of Appetite	Unnecessary Arguments
Sleep Disorder	Isolation from Society
Always Tense	Brooding, Relapse

(Source: Webhealthcentre.com)