Blackouts when angry

Hi new member here...

Just wondering, do any of you have blackouts when you get angry? I forget the first time it happened but I was fairly young. The first I really know about, was when I was about 14. I was working with my father on the ranch and he kept picking at me about what I was doing... He was a perfectionist and nothing I ever did was the way he wanted it done. He kept it up and I felt like I was looking down a long dark tunnel with a small light at the end..which went black... The next thing I remember he had me down and was taking a knife out of my hand. (We used the knives to cut strings and stuff). Another time, a cow was giving me trouble and I was very frustrated. Again the dark tunnel and when I "came to" I had almost beaten the cow to death with a shovel. Another time, this bully used to like to pick on me, he squirted me with a squirt gun which apparently was the last straw, I came to beating on him and the other kids pulling me off him.

There have been other times that this came close to happening.
I also have a problem with anger... according to the anger management classes, we are supposed to be able to stop our anger... For me, I can be fine one second and strike out in total rage the next...there is no stopping it...

I avoid all confrontation and arguments because I am afraid of what I will do. This tends to make me a wuss because I won't stand up for myself because I would rather take abuse than kill someone...

Any one else have this problem or something similar and what do you do?

Hey,

I have never had this myself; and nor have I ever heard of anyone else with it. I have to admit though: It sounds so very very strange. The only thing that I think could be causing it is adrenaline in your blood. When we are angry, adrenaline is produced which makes us more alert and gives us more energy (amongst many other things). So, maybe the adrenaline is having a bad effect on your brain, causing you to 'black-out'. I honestly can't give a reason though, and be 100% confident that what I'm saying is correct.

Did you ever mention this to a doctor before? I think it would be worthwhile getting it checked-out.

Kevin

Is this any help to you: http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/901226690.html

Chucky wrote:Hey,

I have never had this myself; and nor have I ever heard of anyone else with it. I have to admit though: It sounds so very very strange. The only thing that I think could be causing it is adrenaline in your blood. When we are angry, adrenaline is produced which makes us more alert and gives us more energy (amongst many other things). So, maybe the adrenaline is having a bad effect on your brain, causing you to 'black-out'. I honestly can't give a reason though, and be 100% confident that what I'm saying is correct.

Did you ever mention this to a doctor before? I think it would be worthwhile getting it checked-out.

Kevin

Yeah I told the shrink which is why I ended up in anger management... LOL

I can describe what happens... When someone starts in on me, picking and picking and fussing, or I am doing something and it isn't working and get very frustrated, I eventually start to see a black ring that I am looking through and it slowly expands until it goes black... when it goes black, I go off... I do not remember anything that happens until I "come to"...

If I can walk away, or escape then it goes away but unfortunately in the incident with my father, he kept on me, picking at me, telling me what I did wrong, over and over until it was too late...and I could not get away from him...

The same with the bully at school... And unfortunately I when I was able to work, I had bosses who seemed to think that the best way to get me to improve was to keep pushing me and fussing at me... not good... They tend to get upset when you walk away from them when they are fussing at you... and you get fired... or even worse you tell them that if you don't leave you will kill them... That also tends to get you fired...

I have had EKG's, MRI's, and CAY scans...and nothing has been found... so I have no idea... As long as I stay by myself, and keep away from other people I do fine... I am on permanent disability since I am unemployable...bosses do not want to take a chance on me killing them LOL....

It's so strange, isn't it? I'm beginning to recall hearing about similar cases in the past though, and there was equally no clue as to what was the specific problem in each case. Be proud: You're a medical anomaly! I suppose that the best thing you can do is learn how to control it, which you already appear to be doing.

Kevin

I recommend learning stress management and relaxation techniques to slow down the physiological response you have to triggers for anger. Progressive relaxation improves how your body responds to stress by:
Slowing your heart rate
Reducing blood pressure
Slowing your breathing rate
Reducing the need for oxygen
Increasing blood flow to the major muscles
Lessening muscle tension
Fewer symptoms of illness
Few emotional responses such as anger, etc.
More energy; More efficiency in daily activities
Improved concentration
Greater ability to handle problems

there are probably other issues you are dealing with here as well - such as intermittent explosive disorder or another mental health issue - but, learning stress management can make an impact on reducing your learned response to anger.

Thanks for the responses....

I have learned to deal with it...unfortunately my way of coping tends to interfere with my life a lot, but I figure it is better I "suffer" than to do something that would make others "suffer" or even die...

As long as I maintain a smooth, minor problem life, and pretty much stay by myself I do ok...

I have learned to cope...

Thanks again...

Gomezy3k,

If I were you, I would not give up trying to find out what exactly is wrong with me. I would contact doctors at many different hospitals around the world to see if any of them recognise the symptoms that you present. There must be something fundamentally wrong with your physiology, but not so much that it drastically affects your life, right? To be honest though, the closest thing that I have heard to this before is epilepsy, but it just doesn't all add up.

What do you think? Are you going to continue to figure it all out?

Kevin

I thought I was the only person to experience these. It's slightly different for me though. The whole black out portion comes on without any type of warning. What is the longest that you have blacked out for? My worst was 3 days...Please, if you find anything out about this, let me know. I have been to shrink after shrink after shrink, and not a single one of them, or combination of them, managed to find anything that has ANY of these symptoms...

kinmaelstrom wrote:I thought I was the only person to experience these. It's slightly different for me though. The whole black out portion comes on without any type of warning. What is the longest that you have blacked out for? My worst was 3 days...Please, if you find anything out about this, let me know. I have been to shrink after shrink after shrink, and not a single one of them, or combination of them, managed to find anything that has ANY of these symptoms...

For me, it is only a "short" while. By short, I mean maybe 10 or 15 mintues. And usually when I come to, I have committed something violent. There was the incident with my Dad. Another time when I came to my senses, I had almost beaten a cow (we lived on a small farm) to death with a shovel. Mine seem to be brought on by frustration or being trapped. I know I have severe anger issues.