Adrenalin and anger?

Question

I have a short temper, or a battle with this extreme feeling. I am always on edge, and actually avoid people because I am afraid of the feeling that I get when I get angry. I noticed when driving today that my heart starts racing, and my hands shake when just because of minor things like getting irritated at the drivers on the road. Immediatly I thought to myself... IT"S MY ADRENALIN PUMPING! Is it possible to have a problem with adrenalin? I think that if this intense feeling weren't there, that I wouldn't consider it my bad temper, or and anger problem. It's the feeling I get, then a natural reaction to the intense feeling I get so easily.
Is there such a thing?

Answer 1

I can't specifically answer your question about whether some inappropropriate level of adrenal could get triggered as the result of some "disorder", but I have a few different points that may point you in a direction:

Just a couple of weeks ago I was reading on a medical/scientific site how the connections in the brains of babies/toddlers are made as a result of nurturing in the first couple of years. The article noted how if a baby is not made to feel secure enough his brain gets wired in a way that causes that brain to respond to stress in a way that results in too much cortisol production for the rest of the person's life. This means this person has more of a tendency toward high blood pressure and other health risks as a result of stress while someone who had the proper connections made during infancy/toddlerhood responds to stress in a more appropropriate way (even if they do still have the same responses to stress those responses aren't triggered as easily and aren't as dramatic). If it can happen with cortisol production it would seem to make sense that it could happen with adrenaline.

Here's a site that offers some basic information about cortisol and adrenaline: http://www.sadclinic.com/page6.html

It is possible, though, that your "brain chemicals" (cortisol is secreted by the adrenal gland) are fine but that you have some psychological factor which causes your "buttons to be pushed" more easily than they should be. There are psychological techniques you can use to stop that from happening. I know the feeling you're talking about. I would get it occasionally when I was driving when I was young. It seemed to be related (for me) to people's just making aggressive moves when I felt that I was simply "minding my business". It happened a couple of times, and I realized I just had to stop letting it happen. I just had to decide that nothing was worth getting that upset about and kind of develop a "mental armor" against it. If you can consciously tell yourself nobody and nothing is worth it it may help; although some people, I guess, need a little counseling to help them overcome something that it too much to manage on their own.

I'm not saying you have this, but it occurs to me that if you look up some information on "Oppositional Defiance Disorder" it may offer clues to the process of over-reacting with anger when someone does something or says something. You probably don't have this, but if information about it explains how over-reaction can happen or why or what the brain processes may be, it could help you figure out if you have a "chemical problem" or if it is more likely a psychological one.

One other thought: I do know that if a person lives under too much stress for too long or feels emotionally tired it can make that person less likely to be able to "have the emotional energy" required to control reactions to things that happen. You know, if your life has been wondeful and you've been feeling great for a long time; and someone cuts you off in traffic, you're more likely to be able to overlook it. If you've been stressed out and exhausted you may just be set off more easily. Just another possibility.

People I know who feel that they have the potential for a "big temper" (as opposed to a "short temper" which gets set off easily) just decide they cannot ever let it get started. Your noting that you have a "short temper" makes me think you may be someone who gets buttons pushed too easily, and maybe a counselor could help you sort of why you get into your "fight or flight" mode over things that aren't really good reason to.

Answer 2

It is always easy to find fault in a hormone or brain chemistry to explain behavior. Too much emotion, or far too little leads to psychoanalysis or group therapy, anti-anxiety drugs or pain killers.

You must first determine if you have any control over your behavior in this area. Can you see it coming? Do you know your triggers? If you are totally a victim, then outside help is the only solution.

If you are aware of changes before anything happens, then you can learn to control your response to your environment. It may take time, but it can be done.

First notice what sets your off. This might be just a few items or a very long list. If necessary, keep a notebook and write down every incident. What happened to push you out of equilibrium? What were the first indications that something was happening in you?

Do you see any common thread? What makes these incidents different from others where you did not react so violently?

Then, learn what you need to do to remove yourself from the automatic reaction. It could be as simple as telling yourself to calm down. Learn what your mind is doing. Learn to calm your mind. Change the way or topic that you are thinking about. Remove yourself from the situation. This will be hard at first, but it can be done.

This can lead to a counter-move. Something that you can always use to avoid getting upset and having your trigger or buttons pushed. When you see something happen that would set you off, use the counter-move.

I used to have an uncontrolable road rage problem. I used a method similar and now do not.

Answer 3

Anger isn't between the seven deadly sins. Wrath is. there's a distinction... I see the version as being that anger is the emotion; wrath is once you act upon it. Wrath is declared as a manifestation by making use of the definition ie. making theory into action. Anger; Noun: a stable feeling of displeasure or hostility. Wrath; Noun: Forceful, generally vindictive anger. Punishment or vengeance as a manifestation of anger. Divine retribution for sin

Answer 4

Sounds more like anxiety to me. You should talk to your doctor about it. They have good meds for anxiety. I used to be that way now I am happy all the time.