Managing Anger: Finding Peace in a Troubled World
Managing Anger: Strategies for Finding Peace in a Troubled World
Anger is a natural and healthy emotion that serves as an alert system when you or someone you care about has been wronged. At times, global events can dramatically alter your worldview and feelings about humanity. Witnessing widespread suffering, trauma, and injustice can leave you feeling helpless and frustrated.
If you’re experiencing trauma, support is available. Please reach out to a mental health professional for assistance.
When anger toward the world becomes overwhelming, it can be difficult to know how to move forward. Remember that you don’t have to face these feelings alone. Many people experience anger at global circumstances, and many develop mental health challenges in response to current events. If your anger about the world is interfering with your daily functioning, there are effective strategies to address it.
Immediate Strategies for Managing Anger
When anger first arises, it’s often helpful to address the emotional response before tackling its cause. Here are several techniques to regulate your nervous system when anger strikes.
Body Awareness
Begin by conducting a body scan to identify physical manifestations of your anger. Are your muscles tense? Is your breathing shallow? Do you feel heat in your face or chest? Once you’ve identified these physical responses, you can work to change them.
Physical Relaxation Techniques
If you notice tension in your body, consciously release it. A powerful breathing technique used by military personnel to manage stress is the “4-7-8 Exercise”:
- Inhale quietly through your nose for a count of four
- Hold your breath for a count of seven
- Exhale completely through your mouth for a count of eight, making a whooshing sound
- Repeat this cycle four times
Change Your Surroundings
Sometimes simply changing your environment can help shift your emotional state. Take a walk outside, step away from your desk, or move to a different room. If physically relocating isn’t possible, try visualization exercises—imagine yourself in a peaceful setting and focus on how that place would make you feel.
Physical Activity for Emotional Release
Brief periods of physical activity can help discharge anger energy. Research shows that exercise releases endorphins that create positive feelings in both body and mind. Regular physical activity has been consistently linked to improved mental wellbeing.
Long-Term Strategies for Managing Anger
For more sustained relief from anger, consider these approaches focused on long-term emotional regulation.
Cultivate a Balanced Perspective
When anger dominates your worldview, positive aspects of life can fade from view. Try to examine the world objectively, reflecting on things that have brought you joy in the past. Consider the countless acts of kindness and positive change occurring worldwide. Reading stories about humanitarian progress and compassionate actions can help restore a more balanced perspective.
Connect with Supportive People
Reaching out to a trusted friend or family member can be invaluable when feeling angry at the world. Human connection reminds us that not everything is negative and that meaningful relationships still exist. Sharing your feelings with someone who understands can provide comfort and perspective.
Engage in Meaningful Activities
Anger, while powerful, is often temporary. Dedicating time to activities that bring meaning and joy can help shift your emotional state. Some find solace in reading, others in creative pursuits or exercise. Discover what works for you and incorporate it into your routine.
Practice “Opposite Action”
This technique from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) involves acting contrary to your emotional impulses when they’re not serving you well. Here’s how to apply it:
- Identify your emotion (anger)
- Evaluate whether the intensity of your anger is proportionate to the situation
- Recognize your anger-driven urges (such as withdrawal or confrontation)
- Determine if acting on these urges would be effective
- If not, identify opposite actions (such as gentle engagement or compassion)
- Commit to these opposite actions even when they feel unnatural
- Continue until you notice a shift in your emotional state
While anger about world events is often justified, allowing it to consume you to the point of harming your mental health isn’t helpful. In these situations, opposite action can be particularly valuable.
Evaluate Your Lifestyle
Stressful life circumstances can amplify anger responses. Many professionals push themselves too hard, working long hours that eventually lead to burnout, which can trigger depression. While professional achievement is important, ensure you’re not sacrificing your wellbeing in the process.
If your schedule can’t be significantly altered, look for opportunities to incorporate moments of joy and relaxation. This might mean a morning walk, a lunch break away from your desk, or quality time with loved ones in the evening.
Assess Your Work Environment
Your professional environment may contribute to your anger. Helping professionals—including clinical social workers, healthcare providers, and humanitarian workers—are particularly vulnerable to compassion fatigue. Constant exposure to suffering and injustice can foster a sense of helplessness that manifests as anger toward the world.
While changing careers may not be feasible, seeking support for the emotional challenges of your work is essential. This might involve supervision, peer support groups, or adjusting your responsibilities to create a more sustainable balance.
Embrace Change and Process Grief
Major life transitions and losses can trigger anger as a secondary emotion. Many people experience anger when faced with significant change because it’s easier to access than underlying feelings of fear, grief, or sadness. If you’re primarily experiencing anger, you might be suppressing other emotions.
Allow yourself to recognize and name all your feelings. The world may indeed be different than before, and it’s healthy to acknowledge sadness or fear about these changes. While you can’t control everything that happens, you can choose how to respond to difficult emotions—with self-compassion rather than self-harm or aggression toward others.
Remember that difficult emotions typically evolve over time. The intense anger you feel now may gradually subside as you process your experiences. Many people go through periods of feeling angry at the world—these feelings often become more manageable with hope, self-compassion, and support.
Seek Professional Support
Sometimes anger is symptomatic of underlying mental health conditions. Irritability, anger, and rage can be manifestations of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or other conditions that benefit from professional treatment.
There’s no shame in seeking help for anger or mental health challenges. Millions of Americans work with mental health professionals each year for numerous reasons. A licensed clinical social worker can help you identify potential underlying causes for your anger and develop personalized coping strategies.
The Benefits of Telehealth Therapy
For those who find it difficult to seek in-person help due to stigma, scheduling constraints, or mobility issues, telehealth therapy offers an accessible alternative. When you connect with a licensed clinical social worker through ReachLink, you can schedule sessions at convenient times and choose between video, phone, or messaging formats. Your therapist can also provide digital resources for between-session support.
Research indicates that telehealth therapy is effective for anger management. A recent meta-analysis found that motivated individuals experienced positive outcomes in online anger management therapy, comparable to in-person treatment. This means you can receive quality care from the comfort of your home, which may also reduce transportation-related stress and environmental impact.
Moving Forward
Overcoming intense anger takes time, but progress is possible with the right support and strategies. When you have a professional ally who understands your experiences and cares about your wellbeing, it becomes easier to recognize positive aspects of life even amid challenging circumstances. Remember that you’re not alone in your feelings, and support is available through licensed clinical social workers at ReachLink who can provide guidance as you navigate these complex emotions.
