Anger and Bipolar Stability

Anger is a natural emotion, but it can threaten bipolar stability. Anger in itself isn't bad, it's what you do with it that determines whether it is harmful or not. For me, anger is a reaction to something, usually something I don't like that is happening to me or around me, and usually something I can't control (which usually makes me angrier).

I like to be in control. With my bipolar disorder, I need to be in control. Stability is very important to me. When I'm angry, I'm not in control. So I have had to learn to manage my anger, as I have had to learn to manage my bipolar. But it has been one of the hardest things I have had to do.

Ange is one of those things that comes naturally to us. Somethings happens, and we react. Many times we react in anger. In my case, I react in anger when my feelings get hurt. I never learned to process feelings of hurt or helplessness, so I turn it into anger.

If someone hurts me, I can easily form a resentment against them. It took me a long time to learn that when I do that, I am the one who is getting hurt, because they are not even aware of the resentment, and they may not even know that they have hurt me at all! So they're just going along like nothing has happened, while I'm stewing in this anger and resentment.

I learned that first of all, I need to tell the person that what they have done has made me angry. But in order to do that, I need to step back from the anger, or it will just spill out as one big emotional tidal wave, and not accomplish anything. For example, I can control my voice and not yell at the person. I can stay calm while expressing my feelings.

Most times, the person will either not realize that they did anything to make me angry, or will apologize for making me angry. In either case, I have learned that is enough to allay my anger and to calm down and forgive them, so that I harbor no resentment.

If I were to keep the resentment anyway, it would only hurt me in the long run. Anger turned inward becomes depression and in our case, leads to a bipolar depressive episode, and I can't afford that, so I have learned to let it go.

Holding onto anger can also make you ill in other ways. For one thing, it can keep you from sleepping, which can lead to a bipolar manic episode. But it can also make you physically ill as well. It can give you anxiety from the stress of it. It can give you stomach problems and headaches. It can give you high blood pressure. At worst, it can lead to stroke or even heart attack. In my opinion, it just isn't worth it.

If you have bipolar disorder, you need to learn to manage your anger just as much as you need to learn to manager your disorder, or you will pay for it in the long run. It will affect your stability and possibly even your health.

Don't forget to check out my bipolar book at: www.brokenroseministries.com

Wishing you peace and stability,

Remember God loves you and so do I,
Michele