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Permalink Reply by MB on January 15, 2012 at 7:22am

Well said

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Permalink Reply by Ruth Anthony-Gardner on January 15, 2012 at 11:20pm

Thanks for the insights.

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Permalink Reply by booklover on January 15, 2012 at 8:06am

Thanks for all your responses.  I'm not angry all the time, just usually while watching the news, lol.  I actually did say something to my 'therapist' (I just get an anti-anxiety med from her, I have panic-attacks) once about extremely religious people, I don't remember what the context was, and she had NO clue what I meant or was talking about.  Turns out she was a very religious, conservative, and she seemed very naive, as she actually said well she could see that I probably had a hard time finding people to talk to because there aren't many liberal Democrats. What?  See, that kind of dumb made me angry! lol!  Really though I do have to let it go.  There are just too many of them to let myself get mad every time I see an idiot on television!

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Permalink Reply by booklover on January 15, 2012 at 5:20pm

I like your ideas Dan. :)

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Permalink Reply by Nerdlass on January 16, 2012 at 3:23am

I don't get angry often, but I do get upset (let things get to me, usually in a phsyiological way). However, today, I got angry. I lost my file I was working on THREE times... I was almost ready to flip a table, that third time. Just horrible luck and my fingers being clumsy near the touchpad. :( But, I took a breath and figured what I had to do... it worked out okay. Just would have been better if I didn't have to write things up four times. x.x

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Permalink Reply by Un-Tarded on January 16, 2012 at 4:46am

I can no longer watch television. I get my news online.

Now I scream at the computer.

"I you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!"  Guess I took this one a little literally.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Haynes on January 16, 2012 at 12:23pm

This is why I don't watch the news anymore on television. I just read it on line. That way, if I see "Tebow" or a GOP candidates name in the headline, I can choose to either skip it or to dive in with the knowledge that I'm about to read something that will make my brain cells cry.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel McHugh on January 16, 2012 at 5:59pm

OP gave people praying after awful things happen as an example of something causing feelings of anger... why is that bad? I read a story in the paper recently about a Christian charity using its funds to build churches in Haiti instead of homes and schools- encouraging prayer rather than doing good works that help people. This was a front page story, and portrayed as a wonderful thing. It made me furious... and I can't find a reason why it shouldn't have. News reports that show people thanking God instead of their human rescuers make me hopping mad too.

I think that sort of anger is entirely justified. I don't find myself getting mad at folks for prayer in general; I just roll my eyes at that. I only get angry about it when their inclination to talk to figments of their imagination has a negative effect on other peoples' lives. That anger does not fill me with the desire to go and do violence to the people who are praying; it makes me want to go and give them a piece of my mind and call them out on harming others with their delusions. Am I mistaken for believing that sort of anger to be rational and reasonable?

To shut off the news and just not pay attention is not a cure, it is avoidance of the problem... and the problem isn't anger. The problem is finding something to do with that anger. If something makes you angry then research it, analyze it, and decide whether your anger is justified or not. Recognize it for what it is and use it to fuel your desire to help make the world a better place... and the satisfaction of knowing that you're turning your anger into something productive will in turn transform that anger into happiness.

You might just discover that you aren't angry because you have anger issues, but because you care about an issue and have a legitimate reason to be angry about it. It sounds like that's the case- correct me if I'm wrong. Sometimes that anger bleeds over from the genuinely evil, malicious fundies to halfwits like Tebow. Recognize that fools like him aren't the ones that you should really be angry with, but rather the endless parade of politicians and preachers (and combinations thereof) that want to turn everyone *into* fools like him. Then start calling the real movers and shakers out on their bullshit and note how the peripheral idiocy starts to bother you less and less.

So many little things, especially with regards to religion, have gotten on my nerves for so many years... but now that I'm finally starting to actively do something about those feelings, suddenly they aren't eating away at me so much as energizing me. I'm happy that I'm angry, because I know what I'm going to do with it.

That's not to say therapy doesn't help... it really, really does. I resisted therapy for a long time, then tried it and loved it. I wish I had been able to keep it up. Having someone not in your normal social circle does absolute wonders for your ability to deal with personal issues. You're bouncing thoughts off of an objective sounding board and seeing if they stand or fall- you are peer reviewing your own mind. What could be more rational?

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Permalink Reply by JF on January 21, 2012 at 10:40pm

I used to be like that, booklover. I got to the point of isolating myself from the news, pop culture, people I used to talk to, etc. I did that for 5 years, but out of curiosity I bought a flatscreen and viewed free broadcast channels. I couldn't believe how the world had changed, and I was amazed by the crazy graphics that football games had. They showed field markers on the field that looked like it was painted on and all that, it was crazy. Don't do what I did, because you'll find yourself very alone, and feeling left out of the rest of the world, no matter how ignorant it seems. I've been moving forward and trying....I get like 3 or 4 texts a week on my phone, and perhaps one day I'll even get a friend on this site. 

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Permalink Reply by booklover on January 22, 2012 at 9:22am

I still do watch the news and do stuff with friends, I'm just trying to not let 'the dumb' get to me.  I did get rid of most people on Facebook with the excuse that I don't like it and I'm really just on it to stay in touch with a few family members.

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Permalink Reply by booklover on January 22, 2012 at 10:07am

You have every right to be angry.  I can't imagine that. 

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Permalink Reply by damian on January 22, 2012 at 5:53pm

In general, i get angry over the topic of praying. If god has a plan, are xtians asking him to alter his plan? "Please god, forget about the starving children for a moment, and help me throw a touchdown pass next quarter."

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