Why Am I Angry All the Time?

by Evelyn Montgomery Apr 23, 20220 comments

"Anger is a catalyst. Holding on to it will make us exhausted and sick. It's an emotion we need to transform into something life-giving: courage, love, change, compassion, justice"

BRENÉ BROWN

Anger is a good thing.

Let's not confuse it with aggression. That's the action not the emotion.

Anger is sending us an important message.

It is there to protect you.

It triggers the FIGHT in your FIGTH/FLIGHT/FREEZE/FAWN stress response.

Your amygdala is on alert. It’s keeping you safe.

Your job is to decode the message.

What is it telling you?

Has someone stepped over your boundaries?

Literally in your physical space?

Or is it your values and sense of fairness that have been challenged?

What you feel passionate about

What is ok for you and what is not ok for you

Is it normal to be angry every day?

What do you do with your anger?

speak up or go quiet
sulk or rage
avoid confrontation or thrive on it
feel guilty
feel powerful
act on it or shut it down

Different cultures and societies have different rules over the expression of anger. Historically men are allowed to shout and fight. Women are encouraged to be quiet and compliant.

In your family when you were growing up were you allowed to be angry?

If you were upset were allowed to be cross without being shut down?

Was aggression (verbal or physical) part of your childhood? How did that make you feel? What impact does that still have on you do you think?

Did you learn to stand up for yourself in arguments? Or were confrontations avoided at any cost?

If you weren’t allowed to express your anger, it has to go somewhere.

Do you hold it as tension in your body or in migraines? Does it upset your digestion?

If you learned to shove it down did you withdraw? Go silent, sulk, fester and stew in your mind? Is passive aggression your style?

Did your thoughts and self-talk turn negative and critical? Do you think you turn it inward becoming down on yourself and depressed?

Do you feel guilt or shame for having angry thoughts?

Do you use anger to distract from other more difficult emotions like grief or underlying feelings of weakness or insecurity, a way to feel powerful in the moment and overcome those feelings.

It also helps people feel briefly in control of things they typically have no control over.

It might help some people to escape from underlying uncomfortable feelings of emptiness, loneliness, rejection or fear. The rush of drama and conflict feels familiar and produces a destructive intimacy that some might prefer.

Why do I get so angry so easily?

Or is it a message from your body?

Do you need some sleep? Or are you low in nutrients?

Dr. Drew Ramsey notes that, "nutrient deficiency is a major cause of behavioral abnormalities. Without the proper nutrients, the body cannot produce the appropriate chemicals and hormones required for clear thinking and healthy mood, which in turn can lead to irrational and even dangerous behaviours.”

When a person has low self-esteem, low motivation, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, and is prone to temperamental outbursts, it’s common to pin that on some deep-rooted psychological issue. Although this can be the case, sometimes simply being low or resistant in the brain chemical, or neurotransmitter, dopamine can cause these symptoms.

Did you know that being low in certain nutrients makes you more irritable?

Do you suffer from these symptoms of low dopamine?

Inability to self-motivate
Inability to start or finish tasks
Feelings of worthlessness
Feelings of hopelessness
Lose temper for minor reasons
Inability to handle stress
Anger and aggression while under stress
Desire to isolate oneself from others
Unexplained lack of concern for family and friends

Dopamine and anger

Dopamine allows us to stay calm under pressure and not lose our temper. People with low dopamine snap or explode easily or become aggressive.

While it’s important to support levels of dopamine, there tends to be a catch-22. People who are dopamine-deficient typically lack the motivation and follow-through to keep to changes in their lifestyle that would help them become less dopamine-deficient.

How do I stop being angry so easily?

In these circumstances, some supplemental dopamine support can help boost their motivation to address their neurotransmitter imbalances.

Dopamine can be supported by taking:

DL-Phenylalanine
Tyrosine
Vitamin B6
Iron
Selenium

Foods that support dopamine contain high amounts of phenylalanine and include primarily animal products in addition to oats and chocolate.

DLPA

Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, meaning our bodies can’t make it and it must come through diet.

Vegans and vegetarians may need to make sure they are getting enough of this amino acid supplementally.

The more important thing to do for many people is eat a diet that stabilises blood sugar. Eating foods high in sugars and processed carbs on a regular basis will sabotage healthy dopamine activity.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxal 5’-phosphate)

Helps our brain function and the body make the hormones serotonin (which regulates mood) and norepinephrine (which helps your body cope with stress). Vitamin B6 also helps our body make melatonin, which is important in helping regulate your internal clock and your sleep. It is one of the vitamins you may be lacking if you are irritable and tired all the time.

L-Tyrosine

If you are lacking tyrosine you can feel tired, have low mood and lost the joy for life.

Tyrosine turns into dopamine which helps you feel joyful, energised and motivated. Dopamine also influences serotonin, and together, they play a central role in regulating your mood and energy levels.

Why am I so irritable?

Irritability can be caused by many possible factors. Lifestyle factors—like lack of sleep, low blood sugar, and increased stress—can lead to irritability. Underlying medical conditions—such as B vitamin deficiencies, low testosterone, and thyroid disease—are other possible causes.

Nutrition-related issues are experienced as symptoms like reduced ability to manage stress, increased anxiety, irritability and edginess, lower mood, and poorer concentration or focus.

Optimal mental health requires adequate availability and absorption of vitamins, minerals and amino and fatty acids as essential building blocks for our brain cells and neurotransmitters.

Other nutrient deficiencies that lead to increased anger:

DLPA (DL-Phenylalanine)
Tyrosine
Zinc
Iron
Vitamin B6
Vitamin D
L-Theanine
Magnesium

Nutritional deficiencies can tinker with your mental health on a sliding scale ― everything from mild to disruptive symptoms, depending on the person. Research has found certain deficiencies can contribute to anxiety and depression, as well as exacerbate symptoms in people with specific mental health disorders, such as obsessive compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder. A deficiency can also just impact your emotional well-being.

Zinc

Zinc is a trace mineral with many important roles in brain function. It also helps vitamin B6 do the make the feel-good chemicals serotonin and dopamine.

Most people naturally get enough zinc through their diets. A deficiency can occur in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, vegetarians and people with gastrointestinal disease. Symptoms can include loss of appetite or taste, loss of temper, depression and learning difficulties.

Magnesium

In mental health, magnesium helps to regulate the stress response and is considered to be one of nature’s mood stabilisers.

Deficiency symptoms that might indicate you’re low can include fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite and mood changes.

Vitamin D3

There are vitamin D receptors throughout the body and brain, some of which are located in regions that influence mood, alertness, motivation, memory and pleasure.

Vitamin D also regulates genes that make the feel-good brain chemicals serotonin and oxytocin,. Symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency can include depression, anxiety, irritability and fatigue.

Theanine

There are many ways in which L-Theanine may help control anger.

One simple one is that it increases the effects of GABA, thus putting people in a calmer and more relaxed state. GABA is inhibitory, so a normal event or stimulus which may typically induce anger will be ignored.

It also makes people feel happier by slightly increasing dopamine. It’s difficult to feel happy and angry at the same time.

L-Theanine also causes nice long and stable alpha brain waves. These long and stable alpha brain waves are the furthest type of brain activity from anger. Amazingly, L-Theanine doesn’t cause drowsiness, so you don’t need to worry about taking it during the day. You’ll be relaxed but clear headed.

L-Theanine is also helpful with liver metabolism, and a sluggish and poorly functioning liver is well known to be associated with anger as well.

We all tend to eat the same sorts of foods each week which means that over time we start to miss some crucial nutrients.

It means that we end up with deficiencies and gaps without even realising it. This has a huge impact on how our bodies and brains work. We adjust and just think that it is our normal. It’s just what we have to put up with.

Who knew that nutrient deficiencies could be plating a part in your feelings of anger?

"Change the way you look at things and things you look at will change"

It's an emotion you can transform into something life-giving: courage, love, change, compassion, justice, wellbeing.

But it’s great that making a change is in your power.

That’s where a high quality supplement can help fix the deficiencies and fill the gaps.

Your health and your life feels transformed.

You have abundant energy and joy comes back into our lives.

Mood Me contains the perfect mix to naturally boost your dopamine and serotonin levels which to lift your mood, ease your anxiety, to help your mood feel calm and stable.