How to cope with depression and anger?

Hi Kayla,

Anger can be a common emotion among people experiencing depression. You may feel angry at the world, angry about events from your past, or even angry at yourself. This anger can be intense and difficult to control, to the point that it worsens your depression and affects your personal and professional relationships.

What Is Depression? 

Depression is more than just passing sadness. It is a diagnosable mental health disorder that involves feelings of low mood combined with other symptoms such as trouble concentrating or trouble sleeping. A diagnosis of major depressive disorder is made by a mental health professional according to the criteria laid out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

What Is Anger? 

Anger is not a diagnosable mental health condition. Rather, it is an unpleasant emotion that may be experienced by those with various mental health disorders as well as the rest of the  population. While it is natural to feel angry from time to time, feeling uncontrollable or maladaptive anger, particularly when you also have depression, can be a sign of a deeper underlying problem.

Anger and Depression 

Anger is a common emotion that can be destructive when it isn't responded to in an adaptive manner. In the case of depression, anger can take several different forms. Below are some examples of the types of anger you might experience while depressed.

Irritability

Irritability is a feature of depression itself, so it's not surprising that this form of anger is connected to depression. If you have depression, it may show up as snapping at others over trivial things or being unable to handle small disappointments without reacting in a negative way.

Hostility

Going a step beyond irritability, a person with depression who expresses their anger outward may become hostile toward others. This means responding not only with an irritable mood, but also being outwardly angry and attacking those around you.

Rapid and intense onset of anger (also sometimes called an "anger attack") or rage can also be a feature of depression. These rapid onset attacks may come in response to trivial matters (e.g., seem to appear out of the blue).

Causes of Anger in Depression 

What are the causes of anger related to depression? There is some evidence to suggest that serotonergic dysfunction may be partly to blame. In other words, the balance of neurochemicals in your brain may be off-kilter, leading to irritability, depression, and anger. For this reason, medications used to treat depression may also help to relieve your symptoms of anger.

I would love to meet with you and process some of these emotions and help you resolve some underlying issues you may have. Therapy is great for that. We can take a look at your coping skills and see what is working and what is not and also clarify resentments you may be holding onto.