Don’t Let Anger Consume You
It feels a little bit strange to broach any subject that isn’t related to the pandemic or BLM or riots or lockdown. The world seems to upside down. There’s chaos everywhere. More than anything though, there is an abundance of hatred, anger and judgement. Every time I log onto Twitter, I’m hit with a new wave of furious anger, and it makes an uncertain and anxiety-inducing world an even tougher place to be right now.
That isn’t to say that some of the anger isn’t justified; of course it is. It makes complete sense that some of the anger is there, that goes without saying. However, there’s also anger online for people who aren’t angry at any given moment. For me, this is problematic and counter-productive. A lack of anger doesn’t equal a lack of caring. In my own personal perspective, I’m not angry because I’m choosing not to let anger rule me. That doesn’t mean I don’t care though. I understand the world is at war with itself, but it feels like a bad idea to let that war rage within me too. That almost feels like I’d be allowing the negativity to win.
Being angry all the time isn’t healthy. Being any emotion all the time isn’t healthy. When youu’re angry, you release adrenaline and cortisol and all the other symptoms that accompany stress are brought to fruition. We all know that being stressed all the time is bad for you, but in some walks of the internet it’s somehow shameful to not be angry at something right now. You can still care deeply about a cause or problem without allowing yourself to become angered. In fact, I imagine discussions about the problem, be it protests or people breaking lockdown rules, will be far more productive if you’re not being torn asunder by anger.
I’m not sure when we turned a corner and ended up at a place where you can only care about something if you’re visibly and relentlessly full of anger. I fail to see a better future that is built upon this foundation of hate infused rage. Yes, have discussions, yes, protest, yes have opinions. All of these productive steps forward can be done outside of anger and hatred. I can’t remember a situation where I altered my behaviour by being shouted at and berated. In fact, often enough when someone screams at me to do something I’ll do the opposite in spite. Berating someone isn’t conducive to better behaviour. However, when someone takes the time to explain why I need to change my behaviour, and we can talk it out, then I’m usually onboard 100%.
Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m spending too much time online. The world does seem to be extraordinarily angry right now though, and that doesn’t seem like a good path towards progress. As well as that, prolonged anger is terrible for your own mental health.
You can still fight and win, and win well, without seething with rage. Professional fighters do it all the time.
