Problems with emotional dysregulation, in particular with anger reactivity, are very common in people with ADHD. You are not alone in struggling in this area. Anger may indicate an associated mood problem but often is just part of the ADHD. Either way, changes in traditional ADHD treatment can be very helpful.
ADHD can make anger more intense, and it can impair your ability to respond to angry feelings in healthy ways. Medication and psychotherapy can help you manage anger more effectively.
Some common triggers for ADHD-related anger include: frustration and impatience, such as when a person has to wait on hold or in a line. impulsive behavior, such as when a person momentarily feels anger and overreacts.
Know the situations that make you angry so you can be ready to take a deep breath, pause, and respond in a calm and relaxed manner. Remind your ADHD brain to focus on your breath, relax your muscle tension and think pleasant and positive thoughts. Ban negative thoughts.
ADHD meltdowns are sudden outbursts of frustration and anger that seem to come out of nowhere. If your child is struggling to control their emotions, there are ways to help them. For children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), impulsivity can present in many ways.
ADHD blurs the boundaries between what you should say, what you shouldn't, and when to speak up. Impulsive behavior, one of the main symptoms of the disorder, can make others feel angry or hurt and make you feel bad, too.
It's not uncommon for kids and some adults with ADHD to be aggressive. But get help if physical aggression is out of control and directed at people or property.
ADHD symptoms and emotional dysregulation can prompt angry outbursts in some people. Coexisting conditions that may accompany ADHD can also increase the chance of ADHD anger outbursts. ADHD is treatable with medication and therapy, both of which can also help with anger issues.
Methylphenidate (MPH), a psychostimulant increasing dopamine and noradrenaline tone, is effective in reducing aggression in both CD and ADHD individuals.
Children with ADHD have trouble sustaining attention. They are overly active and they may act impulsively. What's more, they may act aggressive, angry, and defiant. But parents and teachers can manage this aggression without relying solely on medications.
Examples of trouble managing emotions
Some have trouble putting the brakes on their feelings when they're angry or stressed. Others struggle to get revved up to do something when they're feeling bored. People with ADHD might also: Be quick to get frustrated by minor annoyances.
Partners diagnosed with ADHD share many of the same frustrations as their non-ADHD counterparts. They feel misunderstood and unloved. They get angry when their partners criticize them a lot. They worry when their relationship breaks down because of their disorganization and distractibility.
Impulsivity. If you have ADHD, you may blurt things out without thinking, which can cause hurt feelings. This impulsivity can also lead to irresponsible and even reckless behavior (for example, making a big purchase that isn't in the budget, leading to fights over finances). Emotional outbursts.
They may find it challenging to make and keep friends because of their brain's executive functioning impairment. The brain's executive control manages their ability to wait their turn, avoid getting distracted, direct their actions, control their emotions, and use their working memory to respond in social settings.
Individuals with ADHD often experience social difficulties, social rejection, and interpersonal relationship problems as a result of their inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.
We demonstrated that adults with a subclinical DSM-5 ADHD diagnosis reported reduced emotional empathy and a more systemizing cognitive style compared to the control group and that this pattern appeared to be independent of sex and ADHD subtype.
High levels of perceived criticism are associated with the recurrence of depression and anxiety, and lower levels of self-esteem [10–12]. ADHD is one condition that is associated with high levels of receiving and perceiving criticism [13,14].
Clinicians working with people with ADHD view hypersensitivity, both physical and/or emotional, as a common comorbid condition. “[People with ADHD] often are hypersensitive in one of the sensory domains: sound, touch, or smell,” says Ned Hallowell, M.D., author of Driven to Distraction (#CommissionsEarned).
Punishing a child with ADHD for difficult behaviors is ineffective and counterproductive because they don't have the luxuries of regulating their emotions and behaviors like a neurotypical child would. Punishment only results in them feeling guilty and ashamed for what they couldn't control.
If you believe that your child's behaviors are out of control and directed at people or property, seek help from your child's pediatrician or call 911 for an emergency if someone is in immediate danger.
Often, the best way to discipline a child with ADHD is via a simple program of behavior modification: Define age-appropriate, attainable goals and then systematically reward each small achievement until the behavior becomes routine.