Month: <span>September 2019</span>

Anger management problems are widespread in the United States, as over one in 10 adults have them. Anger is something that everyone experiences, whether you’re ticked off because you missed the bus or you’re fuming with rage because your credit card got hacked. According to the American Psychological Society, it’s a natural response against threats. It raises your heart rate, energy hormones, blood pressure, and adrenaline to allow you to fend for yourself. Identify and Treat Anger Issues

Red Hot Causes

Internal and external problems can slowly lead you to your tipping point. This may be caused by everyday annoyances like having your car break down in the middle of Westport, Connecticut or interacting with a coworker you dislike.

The APA says that it could also be triggered by remembering traumatic events that happened in your life. A recent survey published in the Central Nervous System (CNS) Spectrums journal found that anger may be associated with different mental issues such as drug dependence, psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders. Some people are also just born irritable and easily angered, a characteristic that can be observed at a young age.

While it’s a normal emotion, anger can spiral out of control and cause problems in your personal life and career. As such, this powerful emotion should be managed with utmost care and responsibility. Here’s how to spot anger issues and handle them properly.

Identify and Acknowledge

You may have underlying anger issues without even realizing it. They may manifest discreetly like passive-aggression. It is a dangerous way of managing your anger, as it prevents you from dealing with what makes you angry and causes you to ruin your relationships with others unknowingly.

You may also be filled with so much rage that you hurt yourself or others physically and verbally. And when these heightened bursts of anger, whether direct or indirect, last a long time, you may have severe issues that need professional intervention.

Take Control of Your Anger

Anger issues stem from losing control over your emotions, causing you to act violently. Gain authority over your anger with the following methods.

• Express Yourself Properly — You shouldn’t keep your anger bottled up, but it’s not good to let your rage rip, either. If you’re mad at a person, try to write down what angers you about them. Approach them and discuss these issues with them as calmly as you can. The same goes for other problems. Just find a person you trust to discuss them with.

• Get Some Time Off — Your anger may be rooted in the frustrating cycle of being stuck in a traffic jam, getting to your nine-to-five job, and going home tired and flustered. Give yourself short breaks at work to meditate, read a book, or listen to your favorite podcast. Use your vacation credits to go on a week-long trip or to focus on hobbies that bring you joy.

• Get Professional Help — If the first two suggestions didn’t work for you, it might be time to get help from mental health professionals. Treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may improve the way you solve your daily problems so that you don’t feel frustrated every time you face them. Along with therapy, your psychiatrist may recommend antidepressants like Prozac to help you calm down during stressful events.

Everyone feels angry from time to time, but not enough to sabotage their relationships and career. If you feel like your anger is out of control or uncharacteristic of you, calm yourself down with these recommendations. When worse comes to worst, don’t be afraid to consult your psychiatrist. Anger is an emotion that you should never let boil over.

Get Professional Help for Your Anger Issues

You must not wait until your relationships and career are ruined by anger before consulting a professional. Here at the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Health, we’ll help you solve your anger issues through tried and tested methods like cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. We have a team of experienced psychiatrists and clinicians who are ready to provide personalized care for you. With a safe and comfortable facility, you’ll feel right at home during your recovery.

Contact us today to start your journey to recovery.

Bulimia is an eating disorder that affects millions of people in the United States. Like many maladies, without diagnosis and proper treatment, bulimia may be fatal to those afflicted. The disease manifests in different ways, with multiple warning signs and symptoms.

The Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Health helps you understand the condition and shares the signs that indicate a close friend or family member is suffering from the disorder. Identifying the symptoms is a vital step in getting them a treatment plan for bulimia that could save their life.

Who can be Afflicted by Bulimia?

Statistics indicate that bulimia nervosa afflicts approximately 0.5 percent of men and 1.5 percent of women in the United States. This is roughly 1.5 million men and 4.7 million women living with the disorder. Although bulimia mostly manifests during adolescence and young adulthood, it may also occur among children or older adults.

Cases of bulimia among women are more widespread, but 10 to 15 percent of bulimics are male. The risk is greater among men who are in sports where lean body types are more prevalent, and among gay or bisexual men. People of African American or Latin descent are also more likely to develop the disorder.

What are the Signs and Symptoms of Bulimia?

Bulimia primarily presents as episodes of binge eating, when someone eats a lot of food in one sitting, followed by purging. Purging usually takes the form of self-induced vomiting, but bulimics also achieve it through the overuse of laxatives and enemas, or excessive use of weight-loss supplements. Bulimics obsess about removing excess calories and weight. To this end, they may abuse fasting methods, follow extreme dieting practices, or overindulge in exercises.

If you suspect that a loved one has developed bulimia, you must pay attention to psychological and physiological signs.

The psychological symptoms of bulimia nervosa include the following:

• They’re preoccupied with thoughts of weight-loss, body image, fat, or calories
• They don’t like eating when other people are around
• They’re too concerned about their body size or shape
• They’ve developed irregular eating habits
• They’re afraid of any weight gain
• They frequently excuse themselves after a meal to go to the bathroom and spend an inordinate amount of time there
• After their trips to the bathroom, they consume large amounts of breath mints or use lots of mouthwash to cover up the smell of their purging

The physiological effects of bulimia manifest as any or all the following:

• Their weight fluctuates up and down
• They have dental health issues, such as enamel erosion, discoloration, tooth sensitivity, and cavities, from their vomiting
• Their hands are scarred or calloused, form inducing vomiting
• Their hands and feet start to swell
• Fine, downy hair strands start growing on their bodies, which is lanugo, a sign of malnutrition.

If someone you care about is manifesting multiple symptoms, they may be suffering from bulimia nervosa. Bulimia is difficult to handle without professional help since it stems from a problem of self-image rather than perceived physiological flaws. Without the assistance of trained individuals, bulimia may eat a person away. Don’t wait until it’s too late to contact a reliable treatment facility.

Better Health in Connecticut

At the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Health, experts use cognitive behavioral therapy to get to the root of eating disorders and other mental issues. Contact us for more details about our treatments.