People with anxiety experience intense fear and worry on a daily basis. Usually, such symptoms are caused by specific triggers. Not only can this disorder affect the way you think, but it can also have an impact on your behavior. For instance, anxiety can cause anger, even though the connection between irritability and anxiety is often overlooked.
Anxiety is accompanied by fear caused by a stressor or threat, along with a perceived inability to do anything about such a threat. Anger, however, is usually associated with frustration. The thing is that if a person doesn’t acknowledge anxiety, it can easily turn into frustration and therefore lead to anger.
Most often, anxiety causes anger because of an underlying fear. Anger is a common defense mechanism when a person is scared or worried about something because this strong emotion may give them an illusion that they control their anxiety.
In this article, we will consider some and think of how anxiety and anger are connected.
Is Aggression a Symptom of Anxiety?
Many of us know that anxiety can cause rapid heartbeat, racing thoughts, and muscle tension and that this disorder is widely associated with fear. However, anxiety may also manifest itself as frustration and anger. People with undiagnosed anxiety often lash out and can get extremely frustrated over minor problems that usually don’t cause an explosive emotional reaction, among others.
A typical example of anger caused by anxiety is road rage. Crowded spaces and traffic are common anxiety triggers, so a person may get angry with other drivers because of feeling anxious. A person with anxiety may worry about a deadline or being late for work, and getting stuck in traffic only makes the situation worse.
As a result, anxiety can make a person lash out at others, while the real problem is how stressed out they feel because of the environment. People with anxiety may also demonstrate the same reaction to stressors in a relationship. Obviously, in this case, anger caused by anxiety can seriously damage your personal life.
Of course, anger isn’t always linked to anxiety. However, if you reflect on your anger, you may often realize that it’s rooted in fear or panic, and these emotions are strongly related to anxiety disorder.
Rude Things People Do Because of Anxiety
There are many things people may do because of anxiety that may appear rude. The main difference between rudeness and such behavior is that people with anxiety don’t do these things to hurt others or to make them feel uncomfortable. The truth is that such behavior can be a defensive reaction and an unhealthy attempt to cope with the .
1. Avoiding eye contact
People with anxiety often avoid eye contact. However, that doesn’t mean that they are uninterested in what others say or try to ignore them. People with anxiety, and social anxiety, in particular, may find eye contact intimidating, and they rarely enjoy being in the center of attention. Besides, anxiety can have a negative impact on self-confidence. As a result, a person may avoid eye contact because this way, they can feel more comfortable.
2. Skipping social events
Many people with anxiety appreciate having a safe space where they don’t need to worry about stressors that may trigger their anxiety. They feel safe at home, and they may cancel their plans at the last moment sometimes. Moreover, people who undergo therapy for anxiety often skip sessions because they are afraid to leave their homes. In this case, an online therapy platform can be a good option because this way, you can receive treatment with no need to commute to a therapist’s office.
3. Not responding to messages
When someone doesn’t respond to your messages or calls, it may look rude. However, people with anxiety may simply feel overwhelmed. Responding to calls, messages on social media, or emails may look like a regular thing for most of us, but for people with anxiety, it can be an area of struggle. For instance, if you have an anxiety disorder, you may spend hours trying to come up with a perfect response. Quite often, anxiety and perfectionism go hand in hand, and perfectionism may actually stop people from getting things done.
4. Awkward conversations
Anxious people often feel awkward and uncomfortable in social situations, which is a reason why they may appear socially awkward or rude. As a result, conversations may go sideways, with an anxious person avoiding active communication or just suddenly ending the conversation in the middle. Anxiety often leads to negative self-talk, so a person may have problems with communication because of being too critical about the way they talk, look, or behave. Such problems are particularly common among people with social anxiety.
5. Intense reactions to the judgment
People with anxiety can be very sensitive when facing judgment. They are often afraid of others thinking that they are boring or weird, and they may feel like they don’t fit in. As a result, when facing criticism, their reaction may be particularly intense because it can be reinforced by their existing fears and a lack of self-confidence. Judgment can be perceived as a threat, leading to anger and other defense reactions. If you realize that judgment and criticism hurt you too much, you can benefit from learning grounding techniques for anxiety.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, anxiety can impact people’s behavior in many ways. For instance, if you often lose your temper, there might be a connection between anxiety and snapping at loved ones. Anxiety can also make you very self-conscious and sensitive when it comes to interactions with others. As a result, anxious people may sometimes appear rude.
If you don’t want anxiety to affect your relationships with other people, don’t hesitate to talk to a licensed therapist. Thanks to online therapy providers like Calmerry, you can talk to anxiety disorder specialists with no need to leave the comfort of your home. about the benefits of therapy to get a better idea of how therapy sessions can help you.