Tips for Overcoming Anger & Resentment in Addiction Recovery
Resentment and anger in addiction recovery are natural feelings that many experience. With support and understanding, you can work through them and move forward. Keep reading to learn more about anger and resentment in recovery and helpful strategies to overcome these emotions.
Dealing with Anger or Resentment During Early Sobriety
Anger and resentment are common in early recovery for many reasons. These feelings are typically related to the emotional, psychological, and physiological transitions you experience after quitting substances.
Many use substances to cope with difficult emotions.1 Once you quit, emotional numbing wears off, and anger or resentment can resurface. Without healthy coping skills, it can be difficult to manage these emotions in early sobriety.
Brain chemistry and withdrawal also play a part in feeling these emotions. As the brain adjusts to sobriety, imbalances in its reward, stress, and self-control centers can trigger irritability and heightened emotional sensitivity. This could cause resentment and anger to be more frequent or intense.
Quitting substances means facing past regrets and hurts head-on. Confronting mistakes, past traumas, and the negative consequences of substance misuse can cause anger and resentment. Dealing with lost opportunities, legal troubles, or broken relationships can bring up these feelings towards others and yourself.
Anger vs. Resentment in Addiction Recovery
While anger and resentment are both difficult emotions, there’s a difference between the two. Generally, anger is a feeling or emotion that ranges from mild frustration to intense rage and fury.2
For example, you may feel angry after starting a structured program. Following rules, accepting help from others, and being vulnerable might bring up these emotions. You might express anger in different ways, like lashing out, arguing, or complaining.
Resentment is a deep, lingering feeling of bitterness that typically stems from being wronged or mistreated.3 Whether real or perceived, resentment can often build up over time.3
Resentment in sobriety can appear when trying to forgive others who you feel have wronged you. For example, you may feel like a loved one judged you for your addiction and find it hard to move past it.
Anger Management Tips for Addiction Recovery
Understanding anger management techniques can be beneficial in early recovery to recognize triggering situations and respond more constructively. Learning to effectively manage anger can help you rebuild relationships, reduce stress, and foster lasting emotional stability in your recovery journey. Here are some tips and general suggestions for anger management in early recovery.
1. Understand What Triggers Your Anger
Paying close attention to circumstances, people, or thoughts that typically make you feel irritated or overwhelmed can help you identify what triggers your anger.2 Noticing patterns when anger flares up and keeping track of them in a journal can be beneficial. Pay close attention to how you felt, what happened, and who was involved.
By recognizing what triggers your anger, you can take control of your emotions and prevent escalation. It can also help you communicate your needs clearly and avoid triggering situations when possible.
2. Learn to Identify Warning Signs
Warning signs are ways you express yourself when you’re getting angry, such as what you say, do, think, or feel.4 Take note of what happens when a situation makes you angry—physically, emotionally, mentally, and behaviorally.4 While everyone feels anger differently, some common warning signs include a racing heart rate, yelling, feeling disrespected, or thinking something bad is happening.4
Understanding your warning signs can help you manage how you express anger.4 You can notice when you’re starting to get angry and use coping skills to prevent reacting in a harmful way.
2. Develop Skills to Calm Yourself in the Moment
Once you understand what triggers your anger and warning signs, developing coping skills to manage these situations can keep you calm.2 Simply stepping away from a situation to recollect your thoughts can reduce angry outbursts.2 Practicing relaxation techniques, like deep breathing or relaxing imagery, can keep you balanced.2
Changing the way you think can also replace angry thoughts with more rational ones.2 For example, instead of thinking a situation is terrible, remind yourself that while your circumstances are frustrating, getting angry isn’t going to fix it.
Developing coping skills can help you maintain emotional control and respond to challenges more thoughtfully. As you build these skills, you can reduce the risk of relapse and support your overall well-being.
3. Redirect Your Energy
Instead of letting anger take over, redirecting your energy can shift your focus to a healthy, positive activity.2 From going for a walk to drawing, you can create a space for growth and healing instead of being overwhelmed by difficult emotions.
Exploring new self-expression outlets, like mindfulness, volunteering, playing music, or stretching, can help you focus on something positive in times when anger arises. Redirecting your energy empowers you to take control of your emotions and builds positive habits to support recovery.
4. Reflect on the Situation
If you feel anger building up or have an outburst, take time to calmly revisit the situation.2 Consider things like what triggered your anger, your response, what you felt in the moment, and if your actions were helpful or harmful. Talk with your therapist, journal, or spend some quiet time thinking it through. Think about what you did right and what you could do differently next time.
Reflecting on the situation can help you better understand your patterns.2 With this newfound awareness, you can make more intentional choices to respond calmly in the future. Over time, this practice helps you grow emotionally and increases your confidence to handle challenges in healthier ways.
Coping With Resentment During Addiction Recovery
Overcoming feelings of resentment is vital in addiction recovery to prevent emotional setbacks and create a space for healing and growth. Working through lingering anger or bitterness helps you move forward and focus on your recovery goals with a clear mind.
As you let go of resentment, you make room for healthy relationships and ongoing support. Having a solid support network is essential to keep you on track in recovery and prevent isolation.5 While coping with resentment takes time, self-reflection and support from others can help you gradually overcome the weight it carries.
Anger and Resentment as Triggers in Early Addiction Recovery
Working through anger and resentment can help you avoid triggers by creating emotional stability. Along with anger and resentment, many feel guilt and shame in recovery. These feelings can add fuel to the fire, making it challenging to stay grounded.
By recognizing and processing difficult emotions, you gain relapse prevention skills to overcome them and move forward. You’ll also become more aware of triggering situations and avoid them if possible.
If a loved one is struggling with anger or resentment, you can help them overcome it. Supporting a loved one in recovery starts with educating yourself and encouraging them to seek professional help. Your consistent support can make a meaningful difference in their healing journey.
Start the Recovery Journey
American Addiction Centers (AAC) features top-tier facilities nationwide. We provide the following levels of care to meet you at any recovery stage:
Discover our premium treatment centers with personalized care and specialized programs to meet your unique needs:
- Laguna Treatment Center
- River Oaks Treatment Center
- Recovery First Treatment Center
- AdCare Hospital
- AdCare Rhode Island
- Oxford Treatment Center
- Desert Hope Treatment Center
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Call our helpline to speak with an admissions navigator who can offer guidance every step of the way. From understanding rehab success rates to using health insurance to pay for rehab, we’re here to answer your questions. Addiction can feel isolating, but you are not alone. Take the first step toward recovery and open the doors to ongoing support and healing. Connect with us right now at .