Anger and COVID-19
Are you feeling increased irritability, frustration, and even anger during COVID-19? You’re not alone. People across the globe are experiencing anger stemming from fear, stress, frustration over government responses, lost jobs, changes in routine, and a host of other causes.
Is It Normal to Feel Angry during COVID-19?
Although it may not be pleasant, anger is a natural emotion to feel during this time. Stress and the many changes affecting you and your loved ones can make you feel like you don’t have control over your life—and from there it’s a short step to feeling angry at that loss of control.
How Can I Handle My Anger?
Anger might be a normal response to what you’re going through, but how you handle it will have a huge impact on your overall mental health and happiness—and that of the people you care about. It’s important to work through your anger in healthy ways.
• Don’t bottle up your anger. Bottled up anger doesn’t go anywhere. Instead, it grows inside you and makes you more likely to become depressed or lash out.
• Do share your feelings. Expressing how you’re feeling to your partner, a trusted friend, or a counselor can help you to learn more about what you’re feeling and why. It also allows you to release some of those feelings through talk.
• Don’t take out your anger on others. Anger displacement is common, but destructive. We’ve all experienced it: We’re angry at the guy who cut us off on the road, but since we can’t do anything about it, we end up yelling at a family member when we get home.
• Instead, do identify the real cause of your emotions. Who or what are you really angry at, and why? Identifying the real source of your anger can help you calm down and stop you lashing out at others.
Need Help?
If you feel like you need help handling your anger, reach out to our office. Our counselors and therapists can help you identify the real cause of your emotions and guide you toward effective ways of controlling your anger and finding healthy ways of working through it and letting go.
