Part One in a series of four posts on anger and the economy. Part Two was published Monday, March 2.
There’s a lot to be angry about these days.
➢ My retirement fund is gone because of the greed of others.
➢ I lost my job while my boss gets a bonus.
➢ I’ve saved all my life, lived within my means and yet the irresponsible guy in default gets bailed out!
Angry yet?
In the blogosphere lately I’ve noticed the number of angry comments from readers responding to blog posts meant to sooth and uplift people traumatized by the economy. “How dare you make light of what I’m feeling!” sums up the reactions.
Here’s the truth: Anger is a good, natural, healthy reaction to anything that can, or has, hurt us. But anger is also a difficult, often frightening, emotion – especially when it is overwhelming. ‘Mad’ can mean ‘insane’ as well as ‘furious.’
Most of us know what out of control anger feels and looks like: Adrenaline pumps, building up physical and mental stress. Unchecked we are driven to let loose, pacing, moving, slamming doors, wanting to hit something. Voices become loud and our language blistering and hurtful. Violence is a threat if not a reality. Enraged we are disconnected from our frontal lobes, where judgment and reason lie; the more primitive parts of our brain take over.
Poorly processed anger can literally make you sick. It can cause high blood pressure, cardiac disease and other ailments. In a desperate effort to control it, anger can lead to alcohol and drug abuse.
Then there are those of us who need to be encouraged to express anger.
When I was laid off, together with about forty other hospital workers, the rage I felt was indescribable. Rather than express it (I couldn’t figure out how without going postal) I questioned my own competence. Ignoring the evidence, I convinced myself I did something wrong to be fired. The result was depression that lasted long past getting another job.
Turned inward, anger can fester into depression or anxiety. Anger denied has a nasty way of finding expression despite our best effort to suppress it, indirectly in passive-aggressive behavior, cynicism, sarcasm or cold, silent hostility.
Do we have a right to be angry? Yes. Always. Even if you can’t figure out why you’re angry, the emotion has no right or wrong. It just is.
With so much to be mad about today, can we be angry and not have it develop into bitterness or depression or have it turn against those whose support we need most? Yes. With determined focus and what may feel like Herculean effort, we can learn to master our anger and not allow it to be the master of us.
Mad As Hell: Anger and the Economy is a series of four posts. Coming up soon:
➢ Three Steps to Master Your Economic Rage
➢ Build Healthy Resilience to Financial Fury
➢ When Anger Manages Your Loved One
22 comments
Hi Elvira,
I read your post on “Mad as Hellâ€.
I wanted to agree with your sentiments and also add that ‘yes’ it is ‘OK’ to be angry, it is a natural human emotion that we can all feel from time to time.
We need to express it in the right direction and at the appropriate level.
A build up of anger like you said effects our health and mood – Stress levels also have a great impact on our anger and frustrations. Be proactive – Do what we can about the problem and let go of what we cannot.
Many thanks
Regards
Dawn Pugh
http://www.dawnpugh.com
The downward spiral of the economy has taken a large portion of my retirement fund with it. There is no doubt that I will need to delay my retirement because I simply will not be able to afford to retire.
After I took the first big hit, my investment advisor called me before sending me my retirement statement because he wanted to prepare me for it. Even though I knew it was going to be bad, I was still absolutely horrified when I saw how much of my retirement had disappeared. I never even got to touch my money before it went up in smoke.
I have been putting extra money into my retirement since I was young because it seemed like the responsible thing to do. My income is not very high so I have had to cut corners and sacrifice in order to do it. I have always had a part time job in addition to my full time job just so I can make ends meet.
Many of my friends did not worry about retirement and they bought nicer cars and bigger houses. While I was working they were out spending their money. Now, I wish I would have spent my money while I had the chance.
My psychiatrist has advised me and his other clients to limit how much news we read or watch. Yes, we need to stay informed, but he feels like the constant bombardment by the media is too much for a person to handle. I agree with him.
The hardest part of all this is my loss of security and my lack of control over my own finances and future. I feel vulnerable and completely powerless to change any of this. It angers me that other people are determining my fate. Especially since they are doing such a pathetic job of it.
Thank you Dr. Aletta for sharing your thoughts.
Thank you Elvira, Dawn and Dawn.
I am mercifully largely untouched by the effects of the economic downturn. I think it may have decreased the value of a smallish amount of money that I was supposed to be receiving out of a trust fund, but that is no big deal.
I feel most sorry for those who have lost literally everything. It happened to almost the whole of Argentina a few years back when their banks went bust, and also happend recently to those who’s savings were tied up with the guy guilty of grand fraud. I feel sorry also for people like Dawn who have lost a significant part of the value of their savings. That must be tough too.
As a Buddhist I believe that anger is always destructive and harmful. It is true that repressed anger can be particularly destructive and harmful, and that controlled expression may be preferable to that on occasions, but far better still if we can learn the virtue of patient acceptance.
Of course it isn’t always easy, but one piece of advice given within Buddhism is: if you can change it then there is no need to get angry, and if you can’t change it then there is no point in being angry.
In truth overcoming anger and developing patience is a life-long task. But the rewards are worth it, I belive.
Its finally nice to hear someone say that its okay to be upset about how crazy things are right now. It seems like anger has become an emotion thats not politically correct any more! I’m not trying to say that we should always be angry but I think its okay in times like this. Times are tough and we need tough answers. Being polite is not going to fix my problems or the problems that we all face now.
I guess for all those who are not angry – there is still real fear. Where is the bottom of the stock market drop? What on earth is my house worth and will the perceived value keep dropping? My anger per se occurs on reading about banks still continuing their lavish ways in spite of taking government (read taxpayers) funds. Please note Maureen Dowd’s recent column. I consider irresponsible lavish bonuses/ trips/ perks to be nothing less criminal behavior and wish the feds would do more to punish this behavior. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/opinion/25dowd.html
This is an excellent article. Really pissed me off 🙂
Oh yeah, and Therese reminds me how humor breaks anger down to little bits that blow away with the wind or a hearty laugh. Thanks T!
Right On! Now what?
I’m 52 years old, have worked & saved all my life to have a good retirement lost it all all I think off is to kill myself.
Maybe we should stop seeing work as a means to an end and try to find joy in the simple everyday wonders. Our bodies are a miracle and the mere fact that you had the vitality to work and keep on shows that you have alot of strength. Scream out loud in anger but make plans in your new reality. Keep it simple, one day at a time. What is done cannot be undone.
Dear Elba,
This is not a time to be alone. Talk with someone you trust and if you don’t have anyone, go to my website http://explorewhatsnext.com/contact.html and contact me.
Yours,
Dr. Aletta
Dear Shari,
Thank you for what you suggest to Elba.
Your comment is very much in keeping with what I suggest in Part Two. http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/03/02/mad-as-hell-anger-and-the-economy-part-two/
Please take a look.
Dr. A
This is in reponse to Adam’s comment about anger and acceptance. I have trouble controlling my anger, especailly now during troubled finacial times. It is hard for me not to be bitter about everything that has happened to me in life. Your suggestion about patient acceptance sounds wonderful, and makes perfect sense, since we can’t control a lot of things anyway. But,how does one get there? Your response seemed to offer some hope for people like me.
Dear Amy,
Please take a look at the follow up to this article. It’s about how to manage anger in response to the economic crisis. http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/03/02/mad-as-hell-anger-and-the-economy-part-two/
You might find what you’re looking for there. If not, please let me know.
Dr. Aletta
Hi Elvira,
In sanskrit, there is a saying:
Ahara, Nidra, Bhaya, Mithunanca, Samanya metat pashubhirnaranam. Budhihirhi tesho Adhikohitasya, budhhirviheenah, pasubhih samanah.
meaning:
In food, sleep, fear and sexuality- both man and animal rank equally. The aspect of Budhdhi is one, the power of discrimination which empowers us to be proactive intead of reactive. So as you have rightly said,disconnection with frontal lobes makes us looser of opportunity and be reacctive either express or supress leading to lot of avoidable consequences. Every dark cloud has a silver lining and every failure teaches us something. It is always better to cling on to Almighty and with patient efforts look for the silver lining.
Just found this on Twitter via https://twitter.com/BeMeaningful
“You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.” -Buddha
It is great to see this in print. A lot of us are watching the news and are simply aghast. Great job, Doctor Aletta.
I am livid…….My wife lost her job in real estate, I lost my job in constructon. Now we have no money other then unemployment. No health insurance, bankruptcy etc. Who is listening? Is
there anybody that can really do something? Where are all the jobs? I’m sick to my stomach and can’t sleep at night without taking some pill. If I could choke a neck I would. The unemployed of America need to take a stand. But will they?