Surviving Bipolar 22: Bipolar Disorder and Anger — Learning to Fight the Monster
Chapter 22 of my journey with mental illness.
My face was so hot I expected it to burst into flames. Bipolar anger was raging within me, another trial I was learning to fight after my diagnosis.
In my journal, I filled an entire page with four-letter words and exclamation points. My fists longed to punch someone, and I imagined taking a sledgehammer to the walls and windows nearby.
What set me off? Nothing really. Bipolar disorder and anger are lifelong friends and a beast inside you have to learn to tame.
This is how anger affected me in the early days of my bipolar journey and how I learned to control it.
This is Part 22 of the Surviving Bipolar Series, a story about the early days of my bipolar journey. Read it from the beginning here.
Problems with anger as a child
As a child, I often had rage attacks. It’s just one way mental illness manifested during my childhood. Each angry episode scared me, but my friends loved to see the rage monster come out.
A tiny thing would set me off, usually an unkind word from a teacher or a cruel attack by a classmate. The irritation flipped a…
