Anger is a big part of depression. Unfortunately, depression anger often gets overlooked. After all, when you’re usually listless or don’t care about anything, people might welcome anger as you actually showing something other than depression. Or, people might mistake anger as irritability, anxiety, or fear and shrug it off.
Anger is a real part of depression
Depression anger can be described as the flight or fight response. Unfortunately, your body can’t separate itself from your mind. So the body reacts, while the brain shuts down. When your body flays in an attempt to fight depression, it may actually physically hit someone or something. When your body tries to flee the situation, it may self harm or engage in destructive behaviour.
If your loved one has depression anger, you probably feel like you’re walking on eggshells all the time. But always remember that you’re not to blame for your loved one’s anger. There’s never an excuse for physical or verbal abuse. You have a right to be treated with respect and to live without fear of an angry outburst or a violent rage.
Five tips for dealing with depression anger
While you can’t control another person’s anger, you can control how you respond to it:
- Set clear boundaries about what you will and will not tolerate.
- Wait for a time when you are both calm to talk to your loved one about the anger problem. Don’t bring it up when either of you is already angry.
- Remove yourself from the situation if your loved one does not calm down.
- Consider counselling or therapy if you are having a hard time standing up for yourself.
- Put your safety first. If you feel unsafe or threatened in any way, get away from your loved one.
* Click here to find out more about Terezia Farkas and Depression Help
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