anger

I need help for a very severe anger problem

You can go to anger management. Sounds like it would help you. Talk to your local mental health place. Or look up on the internet.

It is a good thing that you recognize the anger issue. You can stop it in it's tracks with help.

Welcome to the forum Power49.

Hugs, Karen...

welcome. swimming. you use all of your muscles, good for a release. i let it out. turn on the music as loud as hell, take one huge breath in and scream as loud and as hard as i can until the very end of my breath. it's good.

On your post on the daily check in thread, I recommended a crisis hot line, didn't know you had problems with that. It is sad that it was a recording. But as they say the loudest squeaky wheel gets oil first. Don't stop letting them know you want some help.

I hope coming here can help you. It is no fun feeling anger. I hope that you can feel better soon. Keep posting, getting things out helps even if it is just here. I would let the veteran's administration know you want some psychological help. Keep after them.

Hugs, Karen

Welcome!! And thanks for your service.

I am sorry to hear of the issues with the VA. I have always heard that Mississippi has healthcare issues, and I so wish it were different. I am glad to hear you are being proactive with trying to get their attention. Don't stop.

My nephew spent a decade in the army--and suffers from PTSD and anger issues. I do not know the whole story, but also assume that he inherited some of the depression/nerve issues from my brother. He has had issues with the VA as well.

Exercise is a great release. Physical activity helps the brain to release endorphins, which trigger happy feelings, and decrease the perception of pain. Perhaps there are other folks in your area in a similar situation-- it might be beneficial to send out some feelers and see. A support network with people who 'get it' could benefit all. Perhaps there is one in existence. Check Craig'sList for your area, or even at the awful VA.

I have heard that online therapists now exist,and that can be really incredibly effective, especially for people in rural and under-served areas. Here are some links to groups that work specifically with vets, and general information about the services and benefits.

https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/ChatTermsOfService.aspx

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2007/03/13/online-therapy-available-to-veterans/

https://www.thesoldiersproject.org/

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/treatment/therapy-med/cognitive_processing_therapy.asp

http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ps.650501

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/06/telehealth.aspx

It will take time to fix the VA, time and money and people that care.

True. They might never be completely reformed. Poor leadership tends to sink the boat for the people that work in that administration. And since this physician represents a federal agency, these actions cast a pallor on the whole. It brings the entire administration under suspicion and denigration.

But there are others, doctors and staff and administrators, who try hard and perhaps make positive changes for their patients. These issues are complicated,and it is incredibly tempting to see the bad medicine and the poor oversight as indicative of the whole. And in so many ways it is--though there is much talk here (I am in the DC area) of the VA and the reforms that are being attempted to manage a agency created when veterans were fewer, and when their battle scars were somewhat easier to treat.

But your talk of bad experiences at your local VA, as discouraging and just rotten as it is, does not help you move you forward in managing anger. It's helpful, for a while, to be angry and feel let down. But this anger, while justified, is not a path towards the help you need. You deserve help.

Be well, friend.

power, I posted to you in the daily check in thread before reading here. I found a group, Vet to Vet, on the internet when my son got in trouble while home on leave from Iraq. They were wonderful. I won't go into details here, but he spent 3 years in prison, and vet to vet called me once a week! They don't just care about the vet, they care about the family too. Hopefully, you have a chapter down where you live. If not, I will try to get the contact number for you. They may know of programs in your State, outside of the VA.

The town I live in used to have an Army fort here. Even though it is now closed, the folks here care so very much about our veterans. There is a plan to reuse part of the old fort as a "Veterans village", to provide housing and a medical facility for those in need.

My son still doesn't talk much about what he experienced. Not about the war, not about prison. I pray for him, and I will add you to my prayers.

I suggest taking a bag of ice and throwing one ice cube at a time on the cement out side. [don't laugh]

The emotional feeling of seeing the cube shatter into a million shards is so releasing it is almost unbelievable.

I have PTSD from 15 yrs of child abuse from 4 members of my family. So I do have rage. Please try this.

You won't like this suggestion; turn your guns over to someone you trust that will not give them back to you until your emotions are balanced.

There are many books on Anger. I will list the few I have read that have helped me. I hope you like reading, it did help.

Transforming Anger

When Anger Hurts

When Anger Scares You

Anger [by Thich Nhat Nhan]

There are support groups, I attend a depression group and we have a few VA's that have intermittent explosive disorder and the group helps them, they say. Talking to others and knowing others besides VETS may help you know that you are not in a small sector by yourself and that many people can understand what you are experiencing.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Keep posting here, we support and listen the best we can, validate and do not judge. Please stay safe and use coping skills. Thank you for your service, now let us help you.

Peace and strength

Power,

So glad you will try the ice, it does work so well for me. I will be interested in your outcome!

I do agree with your take on people and can see it even more do to where you live.

Sad yes that people have the control. However, I want to point out that we are allowing them to control us.

I do not pretend to walk in your shoes, all I am saying is once you start to handle your anger better and balance your emotions, you may take back some of that control.. don't be surprised.

Peace
Trina

If I never got angry, my house would never get cleaned! Learning to harness the power of anger and use it in something constructive has been a huge help to me. Perhaps it is an option for you. Habitat for Humanity and the Wounded Warriors project are always looking for folks to help rehab homes. Pounding some nails and doing demolition chores might be an appropriate outlet?