How do I stop feeling sad and angry even when I go to therapy and anger management?

Question

I suffer from bipolar and depression. I have been to therapy for five years and my therapist and psychiatrist released me. I guess they have no hope for me either. I lash out all the time. I try so-so hard to control it, but it doesn't help all of the time. I know some of the triggers but I live with them and I can't really leave. About six months ago my boy friend and I, well I guess you could say inherited his two grandkids. They are 2 and 5. I feel trapped, they have been through so much that I don't feel like I can leave. We're all they have.

Answer 1

ok I am bipolar, it is very true it can only be managed not cured but it can be managed very well on the right medication for each person as an individual its just hit and miss with the meds until you find the one that suits you.
I dont think its a case that your therapist donesnt have any hope for you its just that they can only do so much the rest has to come from within you.
We all have choices in life and its your choice on how you deal with your anger. this is what works for me ok, it takes practice and you are going to fall over every now and again but as long as you get back up thats all that matters.
when I feel the tension and anger building in me which is often lol, I imagine an imaginary circle. I then have the choice, do I stay inside this circle and make myself and others around me unhappy and cause myself great suffering, or do I step outside the circle and asses the situation differently and say, you know what this is just so not worth me getting angry about and causing me so much pain and misery. Thats what I mean by choices. Its hard to start with but you mustnt give up ok.
Another thing my therapist did for me was gave me a tape to listen to, one on meditation and the other on a body scan which is basically getting you to focus on certain areas of your body, its training the mind, you control your mind or it controls you.Other thoughts pop in your head at the beggining but thats normal once you have got the hang of it, its extremly relaxing.The meditation one I do when I go to bed at night the body scan in the morning.
hope this helps, the only way to predict the future is to create it.

Answer 2

You don't say anything about medication. Bipolar disorder is very difficult to manage, but it usually can be done with the right combination of medications, which can take quite some time to arrive at. A psychiatrist would be the best doctor to work on this. Anti-depressants alone can make the problem worse.

If you didn't find relief from your sadness and anger by going to therapy and anger management, then you need to find a different therapist. It sounds like you have good reason to be angry, having two young children thrust upon you unexpectedly, but for their sake you need to work on your emotional health, if you are going to stay in the relationship.

Good luck to you.

Answer 3

Have you heard of REBT (Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy)? Proponents of this therapy say its not the situations themselves that are the triggers but the messages we tell ourselves while in the situations that trigger the unwanted emotional reactions. By changing how we think in these situations, we change how we feel and behave. Im reading a book about it right now called 'A Guide To Rational Living' by Albert Ellis.

Answer 4

I was taught this yesterday, actually. It's not a cure, but a coping skill. When you see yourself starting to lose control in a situation, your jaw starts to set and the tension rises at your temporal lobes. The suggestion given to me was to have a wine cork handy for these circumstances and to put it in your mouth just behind your teeth which will release the tension building. I've not tried it yet, but give it a shot. :-) God bless.