Anger Disorder Types

Dr. William DeFoore will help you understand different anger problems, and provide many helpful CDs, books and services along the way.

With 35 years of experience, Dr. DeFoore can help you to heal the anger in your life. You have all that you need inside of you to overcome an anger disorder and create lasting, loving relationships with your friends and family.

Tell your story now, and if chosen, your contribution will be a page on this site.

Here are the anger disorder types we will explore here:

1. Occasional anger outbursts: You get angry on a fairly regular basis, whether it's once a day, weekly, monthly or even less frequently than that. You know, and everybody around you knows, that you're going to have an anger outburst once in a while. when you have these outbursts, what you do is some or all of these:
• Yelling, screaming or shouting at friends, family or co-workers
• Aggressive gestures such as pointing, huffing, angry looks, finger pointing, door slamming, bullying, etc.
• Name calling, ridiculing, criticizing, blaming and other forms of verbal abuse.
2. Total anger suppression: You never get angry. I know, you think this is success and not an anger disorder! However, your body doesn't agree. The fact that you don't explode only means you're getting ready to implode which is a kind of internal explosion. If you just sit on your anger and never express it in any way, you are at risk of:
• Depression, which often results from suppressed or unexpressed anger

• Feeling tired a lot of the time--holding anger inside your body is hard work!
• Getting sick--yes, suppressed anger can definitely make you sick. You can't suppress your anger without taxing your physiological system, and feeling depressed, which lowers the function of your immune system.
3. Anger addiction and rage addiction: This is an anger disorder that occurs when anger outbursts keep happening over and over again. When anger is released, some people actually feel a sense of relief that can become addictive. Learn all about anger and rage addiction on this page devoted entirely to dealing with the anger disorder of anger addiction and rage addiction. This kind of compulsive-addictive pattern can also result from unresolved grief. Learn all you need to know about the 7 stages of grief here.

4. Passive-aggressive behavior: This goes along with anger suppression, because many people just can't seem to hold it all inside. This is also sometimes called "sideways anger," which often comes out unconsciously. This can literally eat away at relationships, creating distance and hostility. Here are some examples of passive-aggressive behavior:
• Teasing or kidding around with someone when, if you're really honest with yourself, you know you're hurting their feelings. This is humor that is at someone else's expense, or you might say humor that has a victim.
• Asking a question that is really a statement, for example, "Are you sure you want to wear that?" is actually a criticism of the other person's choice of clothes.
• Sarcasm, cynicism and just being disagreeable can be forms of passive-aggressive behavior.
• Excluding the other person from something can also be a form of passive-aggressive behavior. You may have very good reasons to exclude them, but if the reason is just that you're angry at them and secretly want to "get back at them," then that's definitely passive-aggressive behavior.

One way to know if you have passive-aggressive behavior is to pay attention to your thoughts about the other person when they're not around. If you're thinking angry, resentful or bitter thoughts about them in their absence, chances are good that you will be passive-aggressive when you are with them.

5. Intermittent Explosive Disorder: This is an extreme anger disorder that is actually an official diagnosis in the DSM IV manual.

Learn more about Explosive Anger Disorder (EAD).

Want Some Free Online Counseling?
Have A Question Or Story?

Here's your chance to ask Dr. DeFoore about your situation. It can be about your anger, somebody else's anger, or about grief, road rage, anxiety or depression. Tell your story with as much detail as possible, and he will give you some free counseling.

Feel free to also review our FAQ page (frequently asked questions), to see if your question has already been answered.

Then, if selected, the results will be a web page on this site that will help others! So, there you go--help and be helped! By the way, you can be anonymous if you choose, but if you include your first name, it's better.

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...