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Do Herbs work for anger management?

  • anonymous Asks ...
    anonymous

    I have an anger management problem. I am working on it. Some sites that I visit advertise herbal anger management remedies. I am skeptical. Is there anything to these types of products which seem to be just a mishmash of different roots and berries etc etc in a capsule that is supposed to make me feel calmer the next time some guy cuts me off while I am driving?

  • Dr. Stuart Shipko Says ...
    Dr. Stuart Shipko

    I don't think so.  Anger itself is not a psychiatric illness, and even though it can be a symptom of both anxiety and depression, it is not a part of the diagnostic criterion for these conditions.  Anger has a unique status as being a part of most emotional illnesses but not defining any condition.  I suppose that a person could be drugged by medications or herbs to the point where they don't react much anymore, but that is a poor solution for people who need anger management.  What I have found most helpful for patients is to use a very basic cognitive program in which the patient closely examines what triggers anger and then develops strategies to respond more appropriately when triggered. Good anger management therapists often have individual programs with workbooks and lessons. It turns out that motivated patients do pretty well with a cognitive approach.

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