Anger vs Depression

[annwfyn]

Today I'm pondering.

If you were in a bleak and negative mood, would you rather be irritable or depressed?

By ‘depressed’ I mean that kind of horrible, tearful feeling where you feel as if the inside of your head is filling up with mud.

By ‘irritable’ I mean that edgy, antsy feeling where everything that anyone does annoys you, and you feel like you’ve got flames and stinging nettles in your chest.

On one hand, anger feels much healthier for me. I feel energized and alive. On the other hand, I fear that anger is much less fun for other people to be around. When I’m depressed I can usually kick myself into being helpful or trying to be nice (when I’m not being pathetic and tearful), but when I’m angry I know I’m prickly and awkward and tend to be passive aggressive at best, and ranty and spoilt at worst.

And so I’m pondering. If you’ve got a load of stress in your life and a load of negative emotions, which is the best way of channeling, presuming you can? Anger, or depression?

Comments

[suave-steve.livejournal.com]

Depression for me. Anger is something that happens very rarely to me.

Not saying it is best but it is what happens.

[castorlion.livejournal.com]

At least as far as friends go, I think I prefer dealing with someone who is irritable and annoyed than someone who is horribly bleakly depressed. Anger leads to interaction; depression leads to isolation inside this grim grey cloud where you just can't reach the depressed person because of all the damp and dingy cotton wool in the way.

[christabelle9.livejournal.com]

For me... irritable or angry is physically painful. I DO get irritable, times like those I don't like being me.. and others don't like being around me.

Depression usually means for me a lot of sleeping.. keeping to myself.. ect. Most people don't actually see for themselves what I'm like when I'm depressed. So I guess I'm the only one thats uncomfortable in that case, and.. not always uncomfortable because I spend so much time asleep. *shrugs*

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

It must be said, when I'm in the early and touchable stages of a Really Bad Mood I think my Angry Moods are at least slightly more entertaining than my Depressed Moods. Depressed Moods are usually silent and pathetic and require very small numbers of people.

Angry Moods can sometimes produce comedy rants.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

Getting sleepy is a real symptom of bad head space, isn't it? When I'm in a bad place I can sleep for England. Well, that or I lose the ability to sleep full stop which is equally weird.

[christabelle9.livejournal.com]

Sleeping can be bad, but it makes it so damned hard to kick yourself out of it.

But I know the awake stages as well, more so when I lived alone and was grossly over worked. In my case, at least being awake gave me the opportunity to think about my situation and how to get myself out of it.

Right now though, I'm as happy as can be. I'm drowning in kitty love.

[puddingcat.livejournal.com]

I much prefer irritability, because at least I can get things done, or burn off some of the anger through exercise.

Depression scares me. I don't want to get into that place ever again. I don't know whether I'd be able to get out a second time. And it hurts; it hurts more than any anger.

(I see your wolf, and raise you a lioness)

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Yeah...a lioness could probably kick a wolf's arse. :p

[molez.livejournal.com]

For me, depressed is better. I just have a habit of talking about my problems.

*nods*

Cause I don't reveal enough of my private life when I'm not depressed...

[molez.livejournal.com]

I have an odd way of dealing with that kind of head space. I tend to either

1) Go to sleep really early. (getting to sleep is never a problem for me, I'm very lucky)
2) Watch depressing films, have a good cry and get it out of my system.
3) Go swimming. For hours.

I think the reason that those things tend to work for me is that I don't generally suffer from bad head space, it's more just ad days or bad specific situations. So I don't get huge amounts of stress.

[cairmen.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I do that too.

[crocodilewings.livejournal.com]

Anger. Every time.

Would you rather die drowning or set on fire?

[adze.livejournal.com]

I get angry. A lot, to be honest. I can use anger, focus it, and use it to move on from where I was. I can walk off anger, and after about 10 or 15 minutes walking, I'm probably ok.

Depression just sucks you in, and down, and then deeper in. When I'm depressed, I don't know what to do - I want to be around people, but it's not always the best thing to do, so I get more depressed that I can't go and be round people, and it spirals until I end up useless.

[windzswept.livejournal.com]

Anger. I know how to deal with that.

*shrugs*

No other insightful wisdom here.

[imagesandwords.livejournal.com]

I think I hate both but at the mometn anger seems more useful, it's the only thing that got me in to work today and, had my boss not been off, would possibly have led to me telling her where to stick the job and thus leading me to be free to start to recover. Alas, she wasn't in. but the anger has at least got me trying to move things on with personnel again.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

I don't do hideously depressed, I do somewhat downb, but having a healthy internal mind life I don't stay down for long - I just kick over into fantasies instead.

However prickling, spiky irritation and anger I do well enough.

[anysbryd.livejournal.com]

I would stick to what i know best, depression for me, it what i usually get whether i like or not =)

[nadriel.livejournal.com]

I always tend towards depression- I don't like the idea of potentially getting narky at people for no good reason. But then I've heard it said that depression is anger turned inwards, so I dunno...

[leahdarbyshire.livejournal.com]

The older I get the more I'm finding that when people are angry or lash out at other people, it's actually because they are angry or frustrated at themselves not the other person. This is a trait I also notice in myself!

I have personally tended to do 'upset' more than 'angry'. Although recently it has turned into 'angrily upset' i.e rant to my husband about 'why are people like they are?' or 'why is the world like it is?' for a few minutes and THEN dissolve into frustrated tears in his arms afterwards, when I realise it's futile to ask these questions.

I am not susceptible to depression really or if I am, my low moods are always very specific and rational ie. related to something pretty horrible and understandable like losing a relative, people being nasty, illness, relationship break-up etc. I'm always done with it after letting it all out in tears for a few days and then I bounce back.

I have an ex-boyfriend and a close friend who were generally depressed long-term without being able to point to a specific reason.

As much as I cared about them, wanted to help and am usually pretty emotionally intelligent, I got very frustrated with myself for not being able to understand their condition. To me their lives seemed perfect so I couldn't understand their misery. I think I am just overly logical and therefore only understand depression caused by a specific reason. That is my weakness and my limitation.

I think I prefer either anger or specific upset because like others have said - you can talk to someone who is angry or upset for a reason and help them. I never know what to say to someone who is just generally depressed.

I must be a man in disguise - bring me problems I can offer practical solutions to and I'll be happy!

[castorpollux23.livejournal.com]

My doctor tells me that depression is caused (sometimes) by repressing anger.
That's one of the reasons I have the problems I do, because I repress anger about all sorts of things.

It is much healthier to be angry and to vent. Though HOW you vent is an important thing to decide too.