Hope for Anger Management

Holistic Practitioner Spotlight with Dr. Robin Lambrecht, Doctor of Natural and Integrative Medicine, who Discusses Her Approach to Anger Management

We are speaking with Dr. Robin Lambrecht, PhD, I-MD, DNM, MN, MH, and CDEI. Unresolved issues, personal hurts and trauma from childhood can cause your anger to be out of proportion to the situation or event. It is a learned response that is activated when a trigger sets it off.  So many of us deal with it in a way that affects every aspect of our lives from health, relationships, career, etc.

Tell Us a Story About a Patient with Anger Management Issues and How You Helped

Proverb 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”

Let’s face it – We have all experienced anger or frustration in our lives, either towards others or within ourselves. It is a natural and healthy feeling that helps us assert our boundaries with others and occurs when you have a different point of view. Unresolved issues, hurts and trauma from childhood can cause your anger to be out of proportion to the situation or event. It is a learned response that is activated when a trigger sets it off. It is a difficult emotion because we have not been taught how to deal with anger and have been taught that it is bad, so many of us deal with it in a way that affects every aspect of our lives from health, relationships, career, etc.

Many of us hide our feelings creating blocks within us while others go to the extreme and put their feeling into action through aggression, abuse and violence. Anger is a feeling that arises within us and comes in many forms from mild irritation, frustration, impatience to rage. The trouble with anger is that it acts like a boomerang bringing the negative back to you.

What You Can Do for Managing Anger

To lessen the anger bouts that you experience, catch yourself as the feeling of anger rises within you. Stop and take a breath. Ask yourself where this feeling is coming from? Reflect on the feelings, remove yourself from the situation and choose the action you wish to take. You must think before you act, bring understanding into the picture.

If you are experiencing an angry outburst from someone else, instead of becoming defensive, understand where the anger is coming from and realize it will pass. You cannot reason with someone when they are angry because our ability to reason lies in the frontal cortex of the brain. When you enter into the fight or flight stage as anger, the blood from your brain is redirected to the muscles, adrenaline, cortisol and epinephrine are released from your adrenal glands to fuel the fire and a seemingly small issue turns into an ugly picture of uncontrolled emotions.

When someone is angry with you, it is best to listen and paraphrase what they have just told you so they feel heard. Giving advice or getting defensive will only escalate the other person. Save this for another time when they are calm and able to operate from their higher brain.

Keith’s Story

My 30 year old client Keith was very upset when he came to see me, complaining about all the stressors in his life that he deals with on a daily basis. He works as a manager in a trucking company concerning himself with issues of multiple drivers and customers all day. He states he is ‘burnt out’ at the end of the day and just wants to relax. But with two small kids and a stay at home mother who wants his attention, he becomes easily irritated which quickly escalates to anger.  Keith recognizes that his angry outbursts cause resentment from his wife and fear from his children-distancing him from the very ones who love and support him. Mostly he is fearful that he may strikeout if he doesn’t learn to taper his reactions and then he may lose his family. He is also aware that ‘sorry’ doesn’t fix things.

It was discovered that Keith was the youngest of three brothers and was teased and picked on. He was badgered until his anger would well up inside and his brothers thought it was funny so continued. His father’s reaction was to ‘deal with it’, and all he knew was to raise his voice in protest and try to get even, which are not great coping skills.

What had the patient tried before seeking you out?

Keith was given anti-anxiety medication which didn’t help and has tried talking to counselors. He has tried to exercise more in order to relax and burn excess emotions. When these things didn’t manage his anger, he was reluctant to try a different route, but knew he had to do something. Like many of my clients, Keith  heard about me from a friend who had success changing the way he looked at the world by using the strategies I teach.

How did you arrive at your course of treatment?

“Problems start when you bottle it up, react now and think later, or feel that a destructive response is justified just because you’re furious” Norman Rosenthal, MD, professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School

Each person is different and developing a relationship with the client is essential to healing. My role is to hold space for the individual to seek out blocks that are holding them back from the life they deserve. This gives them a chance to see new perspectives and choose new ways of seeing things from all the possibilities.

In anger, we need to look at the root cause (why they are responding the way they do) and the triggers that set someone off. For Keith, it was being belittled as a child. He needed to recognize that he was not a victim of circumstance. While there were factors he had and still may have little control of, he can control how he handles a situation. To react is mindless; it is an automatic response. But to respond is mindful and provides choice. Tapping into the subconscious mind where memories of past hurts and trauma reside is the best strategy in changing the way you respond to situations. It is a sign of intelligence and strength to wait before you react, rather than a weakness.

What modalities or therapies did you implement and what was the outcome of the services you provided?

I have always been drawn to energy medicine and took my Reiki Master Teacher certification.

• I implement Reiki energy healing on my patients with remarkable results.
• I use Creative Visualization and Relaxation to balance the brain hemispheres and reach deep meditative states that allow for subconscious programming to create more positive brain circuits.
• I utilize essential oils, earthing mats, bio-rods, crystals, energies and education in an integrative approach to help those experiencing high-stress symptoms including stress and anger management.

Along with the modalities, the following strategies were implemented:

1. Be present in the moment: What is going on around you? What are the sounds? What are the smells? Have you experienced this type of situation before? How does the other person feel? In this way, you shift from the reactionary beta brain state to the more relaxed alpha brain state.
2. Take charge of your emotions: Your emotions are triggered by your thoughts, so putting a new meaning to the situation can change the way you react to it.
3. Choose your response
4. Meditate

I use an integrative approach where there is a period of discussion and an energy balancing treatment that involves deep relaxation and meditation. This can be done in person or via distance to correct the energy patterns in your conscious and subconscious mind. Then through education and the use of technology that synchronizes (balances) the brain’s hemispheres and provides subconscious messaging to create new brain waves.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny”  Mahatma Gandhi

In as little as 4 appointments, and for some, immediate results can be experienced in an hour session. Repeat appointments are required when dealing with new situations or traumas so that new possibilities can be discovered, and healing can take place. I also prescribe calcium as it acts as a natural tranquilizer and omega 3 that helps immensely with anxiety. Chamomile tea in the evening provides relaxing properties allowing for a better sleep which is important in handling obstacles that come your way.

Keith needed to learn to tap into his higher self to discover the root cause of his feelings. By taking time for himself in quiet spaces and learning to relax, Keith found that he didn’t have to react to situations – that he could respond to them instead. He has done very well controlling his anger.

Why and When Did You Choose the Holistic Path?

As is often the case, it was my own struggles as well as those of my family (heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disease) that led me into the healthcare field. I worked as a Registered Nurse and continued to take educational courses and seminars to learn how to not only heal myself but others. Even after completing my Master’s Degree in Nursing with High Distinction, I was no further ahead in understanding what causes disease and pain. Medication and surgery were temporary fixes and new conditions continue to develop despite these treatments.

I decided to take a Master Herbalism Certification course as I had always been interested in the benefits of herbs, roots and plants. My hobby was metaphysics as I tried to find meaning in life. In nursing, I could do everything except prescribe medication and after learning the ill effects and toxicity of medications I wanted to learn about the healing powers of natural medicines that we consume. This is when everything changed.

I realized that conventional medicine did not teach me the ‘root cause’ of disease or how to eliminate toxins, avoid foods that act like a poison within my body or how to balance my entire energy nervous system. I then found a program at Quantum University that would allow me to integrate my medical license with traditional medicine based on the science of Quantum Physics. This offered real solutions in healing the root cause of disease and working on all aspects of the human experience – not just the physical.

After I successfully recovered from chronic fatigue, colitis, poly-arthritis, and reversed a condition of chronic hives, I am now passionate about empowering others to obtain optimal health. I opened and operated my own health clinic for over seven years and was granted permission from my governing body to practice Alternative Medicine. The healing of my clients continues to astound me and I feel passionate about sharing the information I had gained to reach more people through developing courses and writing.

What Lessons Have Your Work and Personal Experiences Taught You?

I have learned that our thoughts are based on our beliefs that developed before the age of seven. And these beliefs dictate how we act in any situation. That limited beliefs are the cause of disagreements between yourself and your ego, between yourself and your family, and throughout the matrix of the universe that connects us all.

I learned that we are not victims of circumstance or our genes, that we have the power to co-create our lives. That thoughts and intention move energy, that consciousness creates all that we see and experience – it is the ground of all being.

Quantum Physics has taught me that all things are energy, including the physical body. Quantum Physics proves the healing modalities of the ancients and that our thoughts create our emotions which dictate our actions. Change your thoughts, the way you perceive something, give it a new meaning and see the changes that occur in your life.

I have learned empowerment and changed my life into something I greatly enjoy. I quit my high-stress job and moved to a tropical paradise where I share my knowledge while sitting by the pool enjoying the company of my wonderful husband.

Biography

Dr. Robin J Lambrecht, Ph.D. has 30 years of experience working in the healthcare field, both in conventional and natural medicine. She has been awarded ‘World Leader in Health Care’ by the International Nurses Association for her innovative PTSD treatment involving the subconscious mind.

Robin has a Doctorate & Ph.D. in Integrative Medicine (I-MD), a Doctor of Natural Medicine (DNM), a Doctor of Humanitarian Services (DHS); a Master Herbalist and Reiki Master teacher.

Dr. Robin has been an instructor for St John’s Ambulance for over 10 years and taught the Nursing Baccalaureate Degree Program in collaboration with the University of Alberta.

She is a Certified Distance Education Instructor (CDEI).

Robin is an author and appears in the new Wake Up book ‘Miracles.’ She wrote a Holistic Article for a local Magazine from inception to completion and has been published in ‘Education Resource’ for a hydration program she co-developed for the Health Region in Alberta.

Dr. Lambrecht has taught on many health topics over the years and has been a keynote speaker on Empowerment for the Dental Association. Robin continues to teach through developing courses and writing Blogs, articles, PDF’s and books.

Robin J Lambrecht, PhD, I-MD, DNM, MN, MH, CDEI
Doctor of Natural & Integrative Medicine
Quantum Bio-Health
Playas del Coco, Guanacaste  Costa Rica

Visit Dr. Lambrecht’s Website

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