[UnderTheRose]

One of my biggest issues is constant irritation. Not at the general world really , though that can happen also, mainly within my own four walls. Kids, Dog, Husband.

Three ways of looking at it...
Depression causing anger, irritation, lack of following through and inability to concentrate

Bipolar/Hypomania Causing anger, irritation, lack of following through and inability to concentrate

BPD causing anger, irritation, lack of following through and inability to concentrate

ADHD -- but wants to rule out mood disorder before diagnosing with that.

The BPD diagnosis is given because of the quick shift in mood that can occur, detatchment, splitting and some other things that i cant remember. although I am generally quick to anger and be mad, I can also be suddenly goofy and ridiculous.. though that could be part of hypomania I suppose

My paperwork lists-
I have an Axis 1 Major depressive disorder (in partial remission) with affect instability caused by BPD or Bipolar, (even the psych wasn't quite sure on that one)

Axis 2 Borderline Personality Disorder Cluster B traits

ANYHOO, being mad alot and yelling, cursing getting exasperated is a big thing for me. No idea what it is stemming from right now, but Dr wants to treat with a mood stabilizer, arguing that it can be helpful for both BPD and BiP.

Does anyone have experiences with anger issues and has anyone found a medication or combo that worked well for them?

[SaraSkyblue]

I get INSANELY mad sometimes....for no reason at all!! I have no clue why :C I just do. And when people ask me what's wrong I have no idea what to tell them since I don't know. I thought it was just part of my personality, but I see it happens to other BPD's as well.

Originally Posted by TreeintheWind

Does anyone have experiences with anger issues and has anyone found a medication or combo that worked well for them?

I have very intense anger.

[UnderTheRose]

I have to give myself time outs sometimes so i can hide somewhere and hit a wall. Its ridiculous to be 40 years old, a mother and wife and STILL need to beat up inanimate objects like I did when I was a kid and teen. grrr. And then of course, I feel like crud and bawl my head off about what a loser I am.

[UnderTheRose]

hmm, i was reading about affect instability and the intense shifting. A study done regarding BiP and BPD and the moods.
Essentially possible to have a high intellect/higher energy/ low mood, resulting in a Dysphoric mania. In fact many combinations of moods depending on those three individual things.. Energy, Mood and Intellect and how they all sort of rollercoaster together, resulting in the affect instability.
Intellectual report here: Affective instability as rapid cycling: theor... [Bipolar Disord. 2006] - PubMed - NCBI
The 'plain english version' here: Rapid cycling and mixed states as "Waves"
This is probably old news to you but I had never heard of affect instability before reading it in my report.
"The same mechanism may drive both the rapid mood switching in some forms of bipolar disorder and the affective instability of borderline personality disorder and may even be rooted in the same genetic etiology. While continued clinical investigation of the use of anticonvulsants in borderline personality disorder is needed, anticonvulsants may be useful in the treatment of this condition, combined with appropriate psychotherapy.

I get days when I'm full of hate and hostility (anger is an understatement ). I'm bipolar 2 and have a BPD diagnosis which I'm not sure of anymore, at any rate the BPD doesn't seem to be affecting me much at all now, but that could change I guess. The point is I'm sure it's my bipolar 2 that's causing these angry episodes. I also have an issue with irritation which I think comes from my bipolar, simply put I'm very sensitive to all annoyances, all sounds, bright lights, everything. It doesn't take much for the agitation in my mind to build up to painful levels, and the result is irritability. Zyprexa, an atypical antipsychotic, helps me quite a lot with agitation and anger, although that's not the main reason I'm taking them and I'm not sure what I think about using it for anger. Not sure if it would work if the anger is due to something else or if it is stronger than mine, and besides, the side effects from Zyprexa suck and maybe it isn't worth it if you feel your main issue is the anger (in my experience, keeping my mouth shut when angry is usually easier than dealing with the side effects). It's also used for mania, psychosis and as a mood stabilizer. It almost inevitably makes you gain weight, but I'm underweight so that's a good thing for me.

[UnderTheRose]

Thanks Mandrec - I was told I could have both, and its very possible that as I get older I am learning to cope with the BPD better, but am beginning to cycle from BiP worse -- I know that the desperation at being alone and some of the other bpd symptoms have certainly lessened. Hard to know if my irritation/anger (and i share a sensitivity to too much stimulation/light/sound) is from dysphoric mania states or from that instant reaction to environment of BPD -- OR if the instant reaction from BPD is triggered because I am in a dysphoroc manic state-- and in the end I just want help, regardless of what or why. I hate being angry. I dont want my kids to remember me as this Happy Rager.

[IndieVisible]

some times we are the cause of our own madness and psycho therapy is the best route to take.

[allme]

I have terrible anger issues! I mean I am volatile as hell! I am yet to really receive any help or meds for it that work. I am still on waiting list for new t so in the meantime, I am just trying to bite my tongue but it's hard!

I feel for you

[MoxieDoxie]

I have days I get irritated at everything and feel so evil. I have awful thoughts of euthanizing people I consider dumb and useless or arrogant. I can not feel empathy for anyone and then feel people feel the same way about me.

I never told T this but I have said i feel I am evil at times. I have never done anything cruel to anyone nor do I plan on it.

[Edda]

I have been struggling with rage all my life. Lately though, it became uncontrollable and a daily issue for me. It is indescribably intense, lasting and gets to a point where I become unsafe. It actually prevents me from coming and going as I please because I run the very real risk of assaulting someone. I normally end up self harming to somewhat regulate it.

I think I would happily accept all sorts of impairments if in exchange I could rid myself of this almost demonic rage.

[UnderTheRose]

I originally wrote this a while ago but it was bumped up. Since that time I was started on anticonvulsants (divalproex) and it wasnt until I was weaned off them this week -day 3 of no meds now and WHAT a rough go that was - that I realized how flat they made me. I still had the underlying irritation, but rather than triggering in anger I cried and cried. I felt so depressed the past two months. So, today new med. ONE thing I will suggest if you have it in your area is DBT, and if you dont have it, ask your T about it. The Ts in our local health centre decided to learn and implement it over the past few years and now we have a very full DBT group. It mandates one one one therapy also and although I often find triggered by the therapists, but by bit I have found it very useful. Here it is a once/week two hour long program.

[doglover1979]

I realize this thread was old, so I posted something that didn't make sense in light of the last comment. Sorry about that!

[UnderTheRose]

Sadly, the first thing I did was look at the rash. It was recommended to my daughter for her epilepsy. I have a horribly debilitating anxiety disorder and am almost pharmaphobic. TOTALLY makes medicating me more difficult.
I am glad that it has helped with you, and knowing that does make it something I will consider for future use. thank you!

--I haven't read all of this but in reply to your question if anyone has issues with anger..

I get pretty riled up by people sometimes and many times I get very fired up at things thrown at me by way of insulting my character or soemthing as trivial as that. Thing is what gets me the most is when people midjudge my responses (esp. on the internet) as being an attack when I don't mean to. When they resort to bashing me I really get fired up and angry and it lasts for quite some time actually.

[atsidi]

I have anger issues. I have been trying to be better about it. Little things really can make me mad.

I have made a pact with myself not to get mad... instead I when I feel it happening, I try to wait a while until I can deal with things later when I am calmed down. However, I am not completely successful at this.

Originally Posted by atsidi

I have anger issues. I have been trying to be better about it. Little things really can make me mad.

I have made a pact with myself not to get mad... instead I when I feel it happening, I try to wait a while until I can deal with things later when I am calmed down. However, I am not completely successful at this.

A very good approach. And no one is successful always in their attempts to keep their cool but if you are able to some of the time, it is indeed a sign of success overall.

[UnderTheRose]

I WANT to put a cap on anger, but when the triggers are immediate and evoke a sense of 'YOU are a FAILURE' to my sensitive mind, I have a really hard time.
I don't want to be zombified by meds, I want to be a loving mother. A compassionate person.
I hate my knee-jerk reactions to situations around me. The zombifying does help with that, but then squelches my spark.

[HealingNSuffering]

Originally Posted by UnderTheRose

I have to give myself time outs sometimes so i can hide somewhere and hit a wall. Its ridiculous to be 40 years old, a mother and wife and STILL need to beat up inanimate objects like I did when I was a kid and teen. grrr. And then of course, I feel like crud and bawl my head off about what a loser I am.

I know what you mean, when giving my psych history I usually say something like "after the terrible two's I never stopped having temper tantrums"

I was punished for being angry the majority of my life, not one disciplinary action worked against it. I was also punished for being depressed and not being able to enjoy much of my childhood. I think there is no medication to treat anger, don't feel bad I beat inanimate objects up to, it was the best coping mechanism I ever came up with. I used to hit walls and break stuff that I cared about in fits of rage. But since I injured myself really badly punching and breaking stuff a few times I learned my lesson and now I punch softer stuff. I also found exercising instead of punching stuff helpful if you can catch it before you get too angry.

What happens when you get this angry that you feel the need to hit, something triggers your primal fight or flight response and you get overtaken by a lot of adrenalin. By exercising you are using the "flight response" instead of the fight aspect and your adrenalin doesn't go to waste and lets you release some of that pent up energy in a positive way. Plus if you do something positive with that negative energy you feel good about yourself afterwards and do not feel the need to sulk and cry about it later. I noticed a reaction I have it goes in this cycle: first comes anger, next comes anxiety and finally remorseful sadness.

[UnderTheRose]

Thanks for that H&N --
I have been able most times to catch the physical sensation that begins just before the anger, and being able to notice that has been helpful in at least attempting to thwart that response. I can't do too much when the (very large) puppy and two small children are in my care as far as leaving to do any exercise.The dog would eat the house, the children would start hollering, but what I AM trying to do is walk into the kitchen, and start washing dishes, counters, anything... kind of calms me down, lets me turn the anger to tears if I need to, and at the same time I get a clean kitchen.

[HealingNSuffering]

Originally Posted by UnderTheRose

Thanks for that H&N --
I have been able most times to catch the physical sensation that begins just before the anger, and being able to notice that has been helpful in at least attempting to thwart that response. I can't do too much when the (very large) puppy and two small children are in my care as far as leaving to do any exercise.The dog would eat the house, the children would start hollering, but what I AM trying to do is walk into the kitchen, and start washing dishes, counters, anything... kind of calms me down, lets me turn the anger to tears if I need to, and at the same time I get a clean kitchen.

There you go! Cleaning helps to sometimes, there is nothing wrong with crying. I feel like I haven't cried enough considering all the hurt I've been through.

We don't have to leave to do any exercise, keep some weights around the house, run in place, do some pushups, situps, crunches, Pilates, dance moves whatever you find more suitable for the situation. I usually do upper body exercises because that's where my anger likes to manifest itself (hence the hitting stuff) and save the leg work for the mornings.

What also helped me a lot was learning to be assertive, when somebody does something to make me angry I explain to them that they are being hurtful and how they are being hurtful. It usually thwarts their attempt to make my blood boil and stops them cold in their tracks. It seems like people get off on my angry episodes, they must be entertaining to those who make me angry.

[UnderTheRose]

Originally Posted by HealingNSuffering

We don't have to leave to do any exercise, keep some weights around the house, run in place, do some pushups, situps, crunches, Pilates, dance moves whatever you find more suitable for the situation.

ooh, I didn't mean leave the house, up until these two were born I had a full cardio corner right here in the living room, so I could def do it at home -
But now, I would be trying to do that in the middle of two small kids and a large dog that would immediately jump on me, chew me, think its time to play. The level of the house we are on is kitchen living area. My first thing I have to do when I get mad is walk away from the kids and the dog. It is my dependants that are most likely to get the verbal lashing, so for me, going immediately (if i can catch it) into the kitchen, running the water, washing stuff, it calms me. If the kids are at school, and I'm home alone and it happened, then totally... mind you when I'm alone, I feel completely 'well' lol.