Anger is a normal human emotion that can be healthy when expressed appropriately.

However, many people struggle with inappropriate anger or chronic rage. Counseling may offer you the opportunity to regain control of your emotions and to find peace in your life.

This article discusses signs and symptoms of anger problems. If any of these signs sound familiar, it might be time to consider anger management counseling for yourself or a loved one.

The first step in dealing with an unhealthy level of anger is identifying what’s going on inside you which leads to such feelings. Understanding can help you to better understand how to deal with these feelings. The following are some indicators that someone may need to seek the help of a professional:

1) You feel chronically angry to the point of being explosive or you suffer from uncontrollable outbursts.

2) Anger often follows you into your sleep and it keeps you awake at night.

3) You have a short fuse and get easily agitated over the smallest things.  People often tell you that you’re too sensitive about certain matters, but when they do, you get even angrier.

4) Your anger causes trouble in your relationships and makes people around you feel uncomfortable.

5) You’ve been arrested at least once for domestic violence or assault under the influence of extreme emotion/anger (i.e., road rage).

6) You are quick to criticize, condemn, or ridicule (usually upon hearing the first piece of negative information about someone).

7) You feel guilty all the time for verbalizing anger or you feel ashamed of something that happened in the past and you’ve never been able to forgive yourself. Sometimes talking about past regrets is a healthy way to release guilt, but if it occurs too often, especially when discussing something that happened a long time ago, you may be holding on to anger rather than releasing it.

8) You feel like you are in control of your anger, but other people tell you that sometimes you go too far and they become afraid of your behavior. They say things to calm you down or avoid doing things with you when they know you’re angry.

9) You have an intense need to be heard and understood, but when people try to help you they fail. You ask people to listen more often, but they don’t know what to say. They don’t tell you what to do, they just listen as if it’s enough. This makes you even angrier, and brings about a vicious cycle where you demand to be heard more, but no one is able to hear what you’re saying because it’s all coming from a place of rage.  When people try to help this way, nothing changes and you feel worse instead of better.

10) You don’t notice the impact your anger has on the people around you and when they do tell you something is wrong, you don’t believe them. Sometimes knowing that someone else sees how you act helps to put things in perspective, but if you’re too caught up in your own misery or have lost touch with reality, it just makes things worse.

11) You want to get help, but can’t find the time or resources. Many people feel guilty about seeking professional help because they don’t think they can afford it or there is no time in their schedule for counseling appointments. However, therapists will usually work with you on scheduling around your work and school schedule and often health insurance will reimburse members for a portion of their counseling costs.

In many cases, people experience short bouts of anger from time to time, but when someone enters into an unhealthy cycle of being angry all the time and it interferes with their personal and professional lives, it’s time to reach out for help.

Being overly angry can be painful, both physically and psychologically. If you are worried that your anger is hurting you or someone else, it might be time to contact an accredited mental health professional for advice on how to cope with the symptoms of anger where they originate as well as how to recognize what’s going wrong so that the problem can be addressed. In essence, you are asking a professional to help you assess whether or not the anger is a symptom of an underlying mental health issue or if there is another reason for it.