Anger and stubbornness are usually seen and brushed off as teenage issues. However, in the case of Jaya*, a 17-year-old student, it seemed abnormal since she was not assertive with her parents or her grandparents. Therefore, anger outbursts, stubbornness, and picking fights with family members seemed very unusual. 

Once she started therapy, she also revealed that she was socially anxious and showed signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. As an unassertive teenager, she ended up letting her caretakers help her with every task including things she wanted to do on her own. She felt like she had no sense of personal space or responsibility in the family. Our psychologist helped her with her anger issues, and assertive techniques along with Acceptance and Commitment therapy, a form of therapy that focused on helping her be more consistent with her own values and morals and practice acceptance in her life.

She started showing remarkable improvement and was able to get along with her family. She did not have any anger outbursts and did not pick any fights with them. She started undertaking activities on her own which made her experience feelings of happiness and contentment. She started working on her self-esteem by setting her own goals with the help of the psychologist like going to the gym etc. She could finally create her own identity for herself and be assertive, reducing her anger outbursts and stubbornness.

(*name changed for anonymity)