I have a really bad problem, and I'm not sure who to go and see, but basically I keep stressing out at my family and friends. Shouting, screaming at them. Its like, if they do 1 little thing wrong, I got mad. I don't know how to keep my temper down, but my dad and my boyfriend keep saying to me ''Your going to make yourself ill if you carry on stressing over everything and being angry all the time.'' Sometimes it gets so bad that I have a massive panic attack or a astma attack. Im only 17 and I don't want to have this problem. Is there anything I can do? I watched this program were a girl had the same sort of thing as me, and her doctor said, ''when you feel yourself getting angry, just count to 10 till the anger goes away'' But I don't know if it wuld work. Please help. I know it sounds stupid, but I'm so scared. I want to go back to the way I was. Xxx

It sounds like you may be experiencing some anxiety about something and reacting to it. Sometimes when you are anxious about something, it is easy to be impatient and irritable to those around you. If you really want to work on it - I would ask yourself 2 things: 1) what is happening when I get angry and try to understand what emotion is actually behind it i.e.. Frustration, feeling tired, overwhelmed, are you feeling taken advantage of, or treated poorly, etc.. And 2) what do I need? Sounds sort of obvious but anger is usually a reaction to not getting something that we feel we need or deserve. If you can't find anything that seems to be a trend then you may want to consider talking to your family doctor. It could be biochemical and possibly hormone related; either way there are treatment options - therapy, relaxation techniques, medication, etc.. But the more that you can tell your doctor, the more they can help you. Your boyfriend and father are right though, it is not good for your body to be at a constant level of stress and as you have found out, it can cause other physical reactions. Don't be afraid to try something as simple as counting to 10 when you feel yourself getting angry either; you have nothing to lose. I hope this helps.

Sometimes depression can cause those types of changes where you are irritable at every little thing. It has happened to me. Also when I feel that my life isn't going like I'd like, that reaction occurs. But there are many other causes... so my best advice is to talk to a professional, doctor... therapist... psychologist... psychiatrist... they sure will have some help for you.

Thank you SO much for your replys. It seems to be getting worse every day. So I think I'll go to my doctor. Do you think it will help? Because I really want it to stop. And I'll count to 10 every time I feel anger coming on and see how that goes aswel. Thanks again x

Tell your doctor to refer you to a specialist in that sort of thing. But you're doing good if you do practice relaxation techniques, too much built up stress is sure to be one of the causes. Since it's getting worse, the time to act is now. Get the help you need now before any scary brakedown happens.

Honestly I find I have the same problem if I have a lot of stress or things bothering me and I don't give them an outlet (I'm 28) however, my problem did sort of start as a teenager.

I now know myself well enough and my emotions well enough to know that I have to get everything out and unload in some way. My "unload" is working out if something prevents me from going for a run or hitting the gym it is really awful.

I would take the other suggestions here - especially talking to your doctor but also find an outlet. It can be anything. Some people write, others retreat, I run. As long as you attend to this problem it will get better.

Will it cost money if the refer me to a specialist?