I have a combination of both justified and unjustified rages. And most of them are disproportionate. I can usually tell that i am overly angry, but I haven't found a way to stop it yet.

Anger is a natural feeling. However, people without bipolar disorder has a normal range for emotional response. Someone with bipolar disorder experiences emotions and reacts to them far beyond the normal boundaries of that range, often in a very exaggerated manner. It is ok for you to be angry at this person if they are acting in an inacceptable way, especially if he is being aggressive with you - it is a natural response. But, if you just don't like him because of his personality (not what he is doing) and are being mean to him for THAT reason, then you may be out of line. But, it sounds like your responses may be justified.

This is a hard one to answer because although you may think you're justified, someone on the outside looking in may think otherwise. And your description of the incident may not be accurate because you are naturally biased and you're going to relate the story the way you see it and not the way it may actually have been.

i never think my "rage" is justified..now anger yes, there are times that it is justified and times it isn't. if someone does something that makes me mad, i let myself be mad. If i am enraged though, it is normally because i am hypomanic

I know looking back that my rages are not justified. The anger that I kept inside at situations probably was. I will let that build until I hit rage stage.
I can't say what I thought at the time during a rage because I have no thought whatsoever at the time, just pure emotion and loss of all control.

It sounds like a time to go to a supervisor and explain the work conditions you are being forced to work under. Unless of course this is an incident from your past you are describing to us.

But anytime you fear you are about to rage on anyone, I would bring a supervisor into the loop to protect your interests. Explain that the working conditions with this collegue have just become unmanageable and before you do or say anything you will regret later, you'd like some help in managing the situation. Explain calmly and quickly why you think you need your supervisor's intervention and take it from there. Your supervisor may simply advise you on how you should procede. He/she may have some insight into that employee's personality that will help you finesse the relationship so that you may more easily work with them. Or your supervisor, may indeed intervene on your behalf. A good manager is one that wants all employees to be happy and productive. So they want you to come to them with problems in the work place such as this.

But if you let your rage reach the point of boiling over and you unleash it on your collegue, then you leave yourself open for reprimands and recriminations.
CC

OK, I'm learning things here. I could have posted my question in a better way. For one, it seems there is a difference between anger and rage that I didn't grasp initially (English is my second language).

As I understand now, anger is anger, a feeling, and rage is the outward expression of it ("road rage") that is exceedingly strong. I NEVER have that. (Actually, I had that 20 years ago while PMS-ing, but that's another time, another story.) Now, I NEVER rage on the outside, I make it a point to be civilized. My anger (on the inside) could have been disproportionate, but I felt it was justified. This colleague of mine is known by everyone else to be loud and weird, and he subjected me to workplace harassment. It 'only' took me like three weeks to figure that out and find justification for my anger.

This was something that happened some two years ago, I did complain to our boss, whose solution was to keep us apart, because "our personalities don't go well together". I was really insulted, because he has put us both in the same basket, as if I were contributing as much as he did. But my boss is weak on social skills, is really bad with conflict, and he treats me well otherwise, so I dropped it. I just stopped collaborating with this guy, I stopped mentoring him, and I have stated a few times that I do not want him in on any of my projects. We've been very civil to each other since.

Oh, a funny thing: in the height of this problem, he got hit by a car, with a severe concussion and other problems, and calmed down immediately, kind of became normal. Other people commented on that. I felt weird, like I brought him bad carma or something. For I believe that unstable people get themselves in more trouble than necessary.

So the point of my post was that when I look back to my rages, I think "I was not out of line there, I should have been protected from workplace harassment". But aren't rages part of being bipolar? Or does it happen for people who do not have the WILL-OF-STEEL that I have (I really do), and who would have pounced this little guy into the ground, or more appropriately, yelled back at him?

But really, my question was about your rages. How do you feel looking back? Do you feel justified (as in anybody else would have reacted the same), or do you think "oops, better try to calm down next time"?

I get into blind, random rages nearly everyday. No real reason, except maybe I get pissed off because I'm sad. I have no Idea how to deal with it either.

Most of my rages, I feel, are justified and , like you said, disproportionate to how I should actually be reacting. My problem is knowing when it is and is not appropriate to show my anger and how to show my anger. If it were up to me anyone who crosses me would be a bruised mess on the floor...and that's defiantly not the healthy way.

I can totally relate to you. I have to work aloong beside this woman who, as the whole office agrees, is the most crass, classless, low life bitch in the whole place. And of couse, I have to be stuck working directly with her. She always manages to find ways to make me feel dumb and embarrassed. I have spoken to her and my supervisors about her ignorant behavior, they have spoken to her, and it works for a while before she goes back to the old way. The last time she pulled that with me, I went directly to her and told her that she owed me an apology, that her actions toword me were unecessary. She did apologize, and I felt loads better for confronting her. However, she still pulls the same stuff from time to time. I tell myself that I am glad I am not her, anyone who has to act like that must be really miserable. I remember how good my life is, and how much of a loser she is, and that makes me feel better. I know how you feel, sometimes I want to tear her a new asshole, but I tell myself she just isn't worth the time of day, much less my aggravation. My confronting her has helped me feel less intimidated, and more confident in my abiblities.

Sometimes I feel my rages are justified, but most of the time they are not. I have a real problem controlling my anger. I went and sought medical help just the other day and found that my rages come from my bipolar disorder. I can get angry but then I can melt down into a rage all my own and hurt people that I really care about. I know exactly what you are talking about when someone is acting crazy or rude. I went without meds for my bipolar disorder for 5 years because I didnt want to face that there was something wrong. Just hang in there.

I would say for me that it is half and half. Sometimes I believe I am justified. Someone said/did something inappropriate or whatnot. Othertimes, I know it is just me.

that describes alot of poeple here in ds and the world

I don't think your anger was unjustified. I think that when we have mood disorders the level of anger can sometimes be disproportionate. Then again, I wasn't working with this dude who, as you describe him, it seems would make anyone pretty damn mad. It seems you needed some outside intervention in dealing with this guy as it was happening. Some support with his unprofessional behavior. Especially, since you were hormonal and pregnant. But, that's neither here nor there now. As you wrote about it, I don't think the reasons you had for your anger were unjustified. Maybe the level. Maybe.

I don't think your anger was unjustified. I think that when we have mood disorders the level of anger can sometimes be disproportionate. Then again, I wasn't working with this dude who, as you describe him, it seems would make anyone pretty damn mad. It seems you needed some outside intervention in dealing with this guy as it was happening. Some support with his unprofessional behavior. Especially, since you were hormonal and pregnant. But, that's neither here nor there now. As you wrote about it, I don't think the reasons you had for your anger were unjustified. Maybe the level. Maybe.