One of the signs of having an anger disorder is if you find yourself screaming, shouting, yelling at your friends and family, or co-workers on a regular basis. So much so that people start steering clear of you when they see you coming, or walk on eggshells when they are with you. Included in this yelling behavior is name calling, blaming, ridiculing and the heavier duty actions like door slamming, bullying and finger pointing all of which are dead giveaways that you have a problem.

Another side of an anger disorder could be that of total anger suppression, where you never get angry at all and keep everything locked up inside. The trouble with that is that you will build up to the point internally that you will eventually explode and say and do things you normally would not. And your health suffers from this kind of activity: you may suffer from depression as a result, or are tired all the time because of the force needed to hold all that anger in all the time. Also, your immune system will be affected and you will begin to feel sick a good share of the time that will eventually progress into more serious afflictions.

Here’s another example of an anger disorder; one where the sufferer is addicted to anger and rage and actually enjoys the feeling they get when they vent that rage, because to them, it just feels great, and they want to do it over and over again; an addiction. This is a compulsive-addictive pattern and will occur time and time again—–usually resulting from the inability to resolve grief from the past.

Passive-aggressive behavior is a term we hear a lot when referring to an anger disorder or a psychological diagnosis; but it is a very real disorder and sometimes referred to as “sideways anger” because folks just can’t help doing it and the behavior operates on an unconscious level. Things like kidding someone unmercifully, or teasing and teasing until the person who is the brunt of this action ends up with hurt feelings. You are using humor as a weapon and you are attacking a victim with it. Other manifestations of this anger disorder are sarcasm and cynicism—-making a statement about your victim but doing so in the form of a seemingly innocent question like “Are you sure you want wear that dress?”—-a loaded question.

How often have you seen someone totally out of control with their anger, so much so that the rage being expressed is way beyond what would be appropriate for the situation at hand. This type of anger disorder is referred to as Intermittent Explosive Disorder and is actually a diagnosed problem. The anger is so extreme that the rage being expressed is completely out of the control of the person doing the screaming.

We all feel anger and rage sometimes when our lives and the people around us pressure us to the point of no return; but if we are not suffering from an anger disorder, we usually just vent the anger in a constructive way and get on with the business at hand. That is not the case for people who suffer from these disorders, and unless they get the help they need to control their impulses; their lives will always be plagued with outbursts, social alienation, and physical discomfort.

Cindy Drake creates and produces works written about anger management ebook. For more information on Anger Management Groups visit our site.