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Todays issue (Double entendre) is going to be about anger.
Since I decided to go completely sober (no weed) for the rest of the year (including my ADHD meds) I have had quite the challenge to control my anger and impulse control.
I’ve been singing negro spirituals just to get through the day.
But since anger has always been my biggest issue, let’s dive deep into it.
It’s important to know what is causing it and the different types of anger.
Cause…
A slammed door is slammed door.
Since anger can look identical from the outside.
But what activates the anger, how long it lasts, and what travels with it can reveal different patterns. and different ways to tackle it.
ADHD, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder can all cause anger.
So here’s how you identify and patch up each issue.
Diagnostic Dashboard
System clue | ADHD | Bipolar | BPD |
Common trigger | Frustration or overload | May have no clear trigger | Relational threat/ trigger |
Duration | Fast spike; often short | Days or weeks | Hours to days |
Other programs running | Distractibility, restlessness, impulsivity | Sleep, energy, speech, confidence, or risk changes | Shame, emptiness, abandonment fear, all-or-nothing thinking |
Return to baseline | Often quick | Usually after the episode | May shift when the relationship feels secure |
Run a System Scan
For several weeks, create a daily MIND OS log of your anger:
Trigger: What happened before the anger launched?
Runtime: Minutes, hours, or days?
Sleep: Poor sleep with exhaustion or little sleep without feeling tired?
Energy: Normal, depleted, or unusually activated?
Connection alert: Did disagreement become “They hate me” or “They are leaving”?
Background apps: Racing thoughts, shame, emptiness, impulsive spending, hopelessness, or unusual confidence?
Baseline: When did normal settings return?
Bring the log to a licensed clinician. Trauma, anxiety, substances, medication, sleep loss, and overlapping diagnoses can alter the readout.
ADHD: System Overload
ADHD anger is often immediate and reactive.
An interruption, rejection, frustrating task, or sensory overload uses the last available byte of patience.
Because ADHD involves impulsivity and difficulty with self-control, the anger may launch before Logic has finished loading.
The spike can be intense but brief.
Once the trigger passes, the system may return to baseline quickly.
Anger is not a core ADHD diagnostic symptom, but emotional dysregulation and low frustration tolerance are common.
Get Nerdy with it.
During an heated argument, the mind may temporarily lose access to context:
The other person’s intentions and the possibility that this moment is not a declaration of war.
Anger is not one of the core diagnostic symptoms of ADHD. The official criteria focus on inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
However, the National Institute of Mental Health notes that adults with ADHD may experience irritability, low frustration tolerance, and intense mood changes.
Research also suggests that emotional dfysregulation is common in ADHD.
One adult study summarized previous estimates ranging from 34% to 70%, depending on how emotional regulation was measured.
Emergency Reset Protocols
Bipolar: Operating Mode Shift
Bipolar anger becomes more concerning when it appears inside a larger mood episode not as one isolated crash.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, manic episodes can include extreme irritability alongside decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts, rapid speech, increased activity, unusual confidence, and risky behavior. Irritability may also occur during depressive or mixed episodes.
The main clue is a system-wide change lasting days or weeks. Mood, sleep, energy, activity, and judgment all begin running differently from the user’s normal settings.
Emergency Reset Protocols
BPD: Connection Security Alert
BPD anger is often triggered by perceived rejection, abandonment, betrayal, criticism, or invalidation.
A delayed reply may not register as “No data available.”
The system may translate it into “Connection permanently terminated.”
The NIMH describes BPD moods as intense and variable, often lasting hours to a few days.
Anger may arrive with shame, emptiness, panic, unstable self-image, relationship extremes, or desperate attempts to prevent abandonment.
The emotion is real.
The translation may be corrupted.
Emergency Reset Protocols
Universal Shutdown Sequence
Freeze all output. Stop arguing, texting, posting, spending, or driving. Do not make permanent decisions during a temporary nervous-system takeover.
Announce the reset. Say:
“I’m too activated to communicate clearly. I need twenty minutes, and I will return at 7:30.”
Giving a return time turns the pause into regulation instead of punishment.Reduce system input. Leave the room if it is safe. Lower the lights, silence notifications, unclench your hands, and put both feet on the floor.
Cool the hardware. Splash cool water on your face, breathe out longer than you breathe in, and walk until the physical charge begins dropping.
Run a fact-check. Write down:
What actually happened?
What did my brain say it meant?
What do I need?
What action protects that need without punishing someone?
Old me thought:
“I just need to be tougher.”
“I just need more discipline.”
“I just need to stop being dramatic.” (lol)
New me?
We learning: We need better systems.
So I’m rebuilding in public.
Loser to legend. One patch at a time.
Loser logging off.
Legend loading…
Smart starts here.
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