Health Information

When emotions are controlling you with unwanted rage, anger this becomes a problem. There is a vast difference between your occasional fury and dangerous anger. Jeffrey Bostic, MD, director of the School Psychiatry Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School describes the six signs of dangerous teen anger:

6 Signs of Dangerous Teen Anger:

• Cry for help. “When a kid tells you, ‘I’m going to do some kind of harm, “they’re seeking an intervention.”




• Extreme identification. Teens that start to identify exclusively with one clique or subculture and “want to go to war with all the other groups” have crossed the line into dangerous thinking.



• Communication blackout. When teens stop talking to other adults and peers altogether, they are likely feeling an extreme degree of social isolation.



• Violence. It may seem obvious, but too many parents miss this cue, says Bostic. A pattern of violent activities such as hitting or vandalism can foreshadow future harmful acts.



• Dropping out. A sudden disengagement from activities such as music, sports, or theater or an overnight drop in grades can lead to involvement in more risky behavior. A teen that stops identifying with others may have no qualms about doing them harm.



• Substance abuse: Especially combined with the above behaviors, drug and alcohol use may relax mental barriers and lead teens to harmful activities they otherwise might avoid. Keep in mind that street drugs aren’t the only hazard; teens also can abuse household cleaning products, aerosol sprays, adult prescription drugs, and over-the-counter cold medications.

The following are a few techniques to get control of your anger right now:

• Breathe deep and long breaths
• Walk outside and look at the sky
• Do some stretches
• Get some paper and start writing
• Write about what you have to be grateful for
• Imagine you are on a beach laying in the sand
• If you know how, pray
• Remember a time in your childhood

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