I know what you mean by being sensitive to slights. It's the other people it reflects badly on though. It's no different to making comments about a person because of their race or because they are in a wheelchair or have cancer or HIV. It's born out of ignorance and a lack of empathy.

Side note: When I was in the thrall of my anger I was pretty good at blaming everyone one. (doctors, friends, family, etc.) The reasons varied depending on the day. In my earlier post I really didn't say how I got to forgiveness. I did (and still do) two things. I ask myself "why am I angry" not just once but as many times as I needed to until I am at peace with it. Sometimes I'd have to write it on paper and throw it away just to get it out of me. This wasn't an easy thing to do because I hadn't anticipated to find inner truths lying in wait to be discovered. Second, I gave myself permission to be angry. For me, I couldn't done any of it without God's help.

I struggle with anger. I'm angry that I have this disease and that I won't be able to fulfill some of the goals I had set for myself . I'm angry that friends, family, employers, insurance companies don't have any clue what it is like to suffer from this disease. I'm working on trying to find suitable outlets for expressing my anger because exercise is not an option for me right now. Good luck to you.

I thought this was a great question and a really helpful answer here - I wanted to say thanks as I needed to see something like this, that relates to some of the real difficulties of cfs. I have had a particularly hard day - and it helps to see other people discussing in a real and helpful way, thankyou. I think one of the difficulties of this condition is that so much of it can get personalised, as if it is all our fault, or that the whole thing is some sort of psycho-neurotic car-crash that we've conjured up for ourselves - it's helpful to see that there are causes, and contributing factors, to anger or distress or any other sort of vulnerability that comes with this condition.

It is what it is...why beat ourselves up over it. It's one day at a time. One step at a time. Learn all you can about your illness & be kind to yourself. It isn't something we did. It just happen to be us that got it. A person once told me that anger is just another word for fear. We don't know from one day to the next what our symptoms will be like. That's fear for me of the unknown. I do the best that I can do. That's all anyone can do. Don't give up on hope.

When everything in your life is pulled from beneath you, and you are left with just a broken body, there are going to be major mental and emotional challenges. I agree that the grieving process is so relevant when dealing with a chronic illness. I felt a huge sense of loss, abandonment, anger, bitterness, and frustration. And I think it is normal and okay to get those emotions out. Eventually one day, I surrendered to my illness. I told myself that I can do everything in my power to help heal my body, but ultimately I dont know if I will recover or when I will recover. Letting go was life changing. I told myself that no matter what happens things will be okay. Finding peace and hope have helped me tremendously.

I deal with anger issues too. It's hard because most often my anger is expressed in the form of depression. When I try to understand the depression, I find that I have a lot of anger. Most of my anger is directed at the illness, and at the losses I have suffered as a result. I sometimes also feel anger and frustration with my family and friends for not understanding my illness. I am currently very angry at my employer because they recently threatened to fire me unless my doctor orders me back to work. For me, I need to find some useful way to express my anger, because my tendency is to hold it in and turn it on myself, hence the depression. I share your frustration.

Have a look at the closeness of the amydala !

If you have a damaged HPA axis with damaged Immune profile toxicities then it only makes sense that the amydala would be in less than optimal function.

In many ME / CFS'ers the d-lactate, potasium and magnesium chanelopathies as well as the NitricOxide signaling molecule network are damaged which results in a shift from the parasympathetic nervous system dominance to allowing the sympathetic nervous system being dominant hence activation of the sympathetic nervous system has the following effects:

dilates the pupils
opens the eyelids
stimulates the sweat glands
dilates the blood vessels in large muscles (vasodilation causing reduced blood flow to peripheries
constricts the blood vessels in the rest of the body
increases the heart rate
opens up the bronchial tubes of the lungs
inhibits the secretions in the digestive system
One of its most important effects is causing the adrenal glands (which sit on top of the kidneys) to release epinephrine (aka adrenalin) into the blood stream. Epinephrine is a powerful hormone that causes various parts of the body to respond in much the same way as the sympathetic nervous system. Being in the blood stream, it takes a bit longer to stop its effects. This is why, when you get upset, it sometimes takes a while before you can calm yourself down again!
The sympathetic nervous system also takes in information, mostly concerning pain from internal organs. Because the nerves that carry information about organ pain often travel along the same paths that carry information about pain from more surface areas of the body, the information sometimes get confused. This is called referred pain, and the best known example is the pain some people feel in the left shoulder and arm when they are having a heart attack.
Hence when the sympathetic nervous system is dominant we are much more on edge and easilly angered.

Al

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/limbicsystem.html

Anger! Hell YES! CFS is the theif that stole the life I dreamed of. It stole the energy from my body, clarity from my brain, confidence from my self-esteem and joy from my heart. But it hasn't won, I wake every day and battle CFS. Some days I know I need to be patient, other days I push myself to do something. Don't be angry at yourself, pat yourself on the back everyday(you made it through another day!), Love yourself with a mother's love. When I do tell people about CFS, I state it as a fact, I do not look to them for approval or understanding. If met with dissapproval, I say;' I hope you never experience it.' and I leave it at that.
A few years ago, I was lower than low, I made myself everyday even if I didn't want to, Watch 'america's funniest home videos'.
It was on every afternoon, I really wasn't a fan and it took a couple of weeks, but before I knew it I was laughing at least once every day! Love and laughter will dissolve the anger & make life better.
Sometimes it is best to work with what you have, not concentrating on what you don't. I jump for joy on the days I feel good & try to be patient on the days I don't. Others don't understand, but that's OK I don't need them to. What's most important, is that I understand me.
Places like this site are here for support, what a blessing!