Generally, people with dementia become agitated due to three potential trigger categories: Medical, physiological and/or environmental.

Some examples of common triggers are:

• the anniversary dates of losses or trauma.
• frightening news events.
• too much to do, feeling overwhelmed.
• family friction.
• the end of a relationship.
• spending too much time alone.
• being judged, criticized, teased, or put down.
• financial problems, getting a big bill.

In mental health terms, a trigger refers to something that affects your emotional state, often significantly, by causing extreme overwhelm or distress. A trigger affects your ability to remain present in the moment. It may bring up specific thought patterns or influence your behavior.

Become aware of signs in your body that you’re reacting to a trigger, such as changes in your breathing so that you can learn how to calm yourself down and shift your emotional state. Your ultimate goal should be to detach yourself from the trigger, re-center, and focus on your coping strategy.

To explain it in terms of behavior management, a trigger is a thought about a situation that leads to an inappropriate response to that situation. In other words, it’s not the situation or the feeling that’s the problem; it’s how kids think about these things and what they say to themselves that causes problems.

Anger triggers are like any emotional trigger. It’s a sensitive area in your emotions that gets stirred up by a certain situation, person, topic, etc. No need to fear. We all have emotional triggers. Different situations can trigger different emotions for everyone.

There are three types of anger which help shape how we react in a situation that makes us angry. These are: Passive Aggression, Open Aggression, and Assertive Anger.

THE BASICS

• Procrastination in the completion of tasks, especially ones you don’t like or want to do.
• Habitual lateness.
• Sarcasm, cynicism, or flippancy.
• Frequent sighing.
• Smiling while hurting.
• Frequent disturbing or frightening dreams.
• Excessive irritability over trifles.

Some physical signs of anger include:

• clenching your jaws or grinding your teeth.
• headache.
• stomach ache.
• increased and rapid heart rate.
• sweating, especially your palms.
• feeling hot in the neck/face.
• shaking or trembling.
• dizziness.

While the triggers for each person may vary, Moore said there are some common causes of pent-up anger, such as feeling unheard or unappreciated, lack of acceptance of a situation, or unmet needs. Some people may also experience anger when they’re hurt.

Silent rage is no secret, even though it’s silent. Most communication is nonverbal, and you can rest assured that your eyes, expressions, voice tone and mannerisms are communicating your suppressed rage and anger. It got this way because you don’t know what to do about your anger, and it just kept building.

Some common anger triggers include: personal problems, such as missing a promotion at work or relationship difficulties. a problem caused by another person such as cancelling plans. an event like bad traffic or getting in a car accident.

Intermittent explosive disorder is a lesser-known mental disorder marked by episodes of unwarranted anger. It is commonly described as “flying into a rage for no reason.” In an individual with intermittent explosive disorder, the behavioral outbursts are out of proportion to the situation.

A short temper can also be a sign of an underlying condition like depression or intermittent explosive disorder (IED), which is characterized by impulsive and aggressive behavior. If your anger has become overwhelming or is causing you to hurt yourself or those around you, it’s time to find professional help.

Anger is a secondary emotion Typically, we experience a primary emotion like fear, loss, or sadness first. Because these emotions create feelings of vulnerability and loss of control, they make us uncomfortable. One way of attempting to deal with these feelings is by subconsciously shifting into anger.

When someone or something compromises your passions, anger may be a natural response. “Anger is the result of love. It is energy for defense of something you love when it is threatened.”

That brought me to discover a book that described the four stages of anger for a child and really for any of us. The four stages are (1) the buildup, (2) the spark, (3) the explosion, (4) the aftermath.

Is anger a choice? If you believe you can change your response, then the answer is yes. Anger is an important primary feeling which indicates danger and that some of our needs are not being met, yet it remains one of the most undesirable, controversial and one of the least understood emotions.

Anger is a Secondary Emotion Typically, one of the primary emotions, like fear or sadness, can be found underneath the anger. Fear includes things like anxiety and worry, and sadness comes from the experience of loss, disappointment or discouragement.

Here are four types of anger that appear in four different situations.

• Aggressive Anger. Anger is the emotion of fighting and when a person is angered they will naturally seek to attack others.
• Defensive Anger.
• Outraged Anger.
• Frustrated Anger.

Epinephrine or adrenalin released by medulla of the adrenal glands, surges at the time of panic and emergency. It provokes stress response and brings out the arousal of extreme emotions like fear, anger or amusement.

Dopamine: Often called the “happy hormone,” dopamine results in feelings of well-being.

According to an article called “Where did my IQ points Go? in Psychology Today, when we get angry the light goes out in the prefrontal cortex, which is the excutive functioning and decision making region of the brain. It’s like we’re operating with 10 to 15 less IQ points when we’re angry.

The risk of a heart attack and stroke increases in the two hours following angry outbursts, especially among former heart attack patients, according to a study from the European Heart Journal. Heart attack risk increased nearly five times and stroke risk rose by three times.

8 Things NEVER to Say to an Angry Person

1. Any kind of demand.
2. Any kind of cute euphemism for their anger.
3. Anything to suggest their anger is inappropriate.
4. Anything that expresses your lack of empathy for them.
5. Anything that de-personalizes them or their problem.
6. Any attempt to shut down the confrontation that they started.

Sleep experts believe that the correlation between lack of sleep and increased impatience is due to the part of our brains that deals with our instinctive and primal emotions. This is known as the limbic system. Within the limbic system, there are two small areas collectively known as the amygdala.

The truth is, it’s almost physically impossible to stay awake for days at a time, because your brain will essentially force you to fall asleep.

The military method

1. Relax your entire face, including the muscles inside your mouth.
2. Drop your shoulders to release the tension and let your hands drop to the side of your body.
3. Exhale, relaxing your chest.
4. Relax your legs, thighs, and calves.
5. Clear your mind for 10 seconds by imagining a relaxing scene.

Sleeping for a couple of hours or fewer isn’t ideal, but it can still provide your body with one sleep cycle. Ideally, it’s a good idea to aim for at least 90 minutes of sleep so that your body has time to go through a full cycle.