The Washington Post (6/29, Chang) reports that Joshua Morganstein, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on the Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster, said that the US is facing “three disasters superimposed on top of one another” referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, its economic consequences, and “civil unrest.” Morganstein said, “Certainly, one way of responding, and a common way of responding, is anger.” The Post offers “strategies to curb anger” including, according to Morganstein, “basic self-care.” Morganstein also suggested “more media breaks, more time walking outside, seeing our neighbors, saying hello, exchanging problem-solving and reminding each other that we’re in this together.” Morganstein further said, “One of the things that can feel very overwhelming and paralyzing for people is to sit in a passive mode,” and suggested that helping someone else shows “we are not helpless, we are not powerless, and there are things we can do to effect change.”
Related Links:
— “Americans are living in a big ‘anger incubator.’ Experts have tips for regulating our rage., “Elizabeth Chang, The Washington Post, June 29, 2020