Reign in Rage by Beating Hurry Sickness

In the early 1990s, a behavioural trend called “road rage” emerged as an alarming number of drivers on North American roads, began expressing their frustration and anger by taking it out on other drivers. Stories came out of angry drivers leaving their cars, approaching other drivers and assaulting them, breaking their windows, and in one bizarre case, throwing an offending driver's family pet into oncoming traffic.

Suddenly we found ourselves confronted with incidences of air rage, rail rage, and most recently, boat rage! It seems that any vehicle now serves as one through which people can express their anger! Why do people appear to be angrier than in days past, and more willing to openly demonstrate their anger? There are two major causes:

Hurry Sickness: For people with “hurry sickness”, a disproportionate amount of emotional energy is consumed trying to outwit time. People ask themselves, “How can I move faster, and do more things, in less time?” Often their thinking, speech, and movements are hurried, and they will try to hurry the thinking, speaking, and movements of others around them. Planes, trains and automobiles must arrive and depart on time if the person with hurry sickness is to remain calm. Cars on the highway must move at “acceptable” speeds, and there must never be a slow lineup anywhere.

People with hurry sickness become impatient or angry whenever people talk slowly, when planes or trains are late, when cars dawdle, and people take time to count out their change for the cashier. Hurry sickness causes stress, and stress causes hurry sickness. It is a vicious cycle that can only be broken through committed efforts to slow down, thereby reducing stress, anxiety, and anger.

Control and Power: By losing one’s temper in a public place with an audience, a regular “Joe” or “Jane” who feels like his/her life is spinning out of control can instantly garner attention and obtain temporary control over his/her environment. Anonymity is a wonderful thing, and it is easy to act out in a crowd when you are convinced you will never see any of these people again.

Very often, the mindset of people who engage in “travel rage” is that whatever happens to them is happening “on purpose”. So the driver, who didn’t see Joe behind him because of the blind spot on his car, isn’t innocent – he cut Joe off on purpose because he knew Joe is late for a meeting. This type of thinking enables Joe to rationalize his aggressive behaviour because, in his mind, the other guy deserves whatever he has coming! Joe’s need for control supercedes rational thinking. For the moment Joe feels powerful and that is all he cares about. He isn’t considering the long term consequences of his behaviour – all he knows is that right now he feels pretty darn good.

The danger of course, is that people who may never have had a brush with the law in their lives, put themselves at risk of being charged with assault, uttering threats, or reckless driving; even worse, with the tougher laws related to air travel, Joe or Jane may find themselves being banned from certain airline flights because of bad behaviour.

Reining in the rage requires a certain level of awareness on the part of the angry person that s/he is overwhelmed, rushed, or frustrated, as well as a willingness to accept responsibility for his/her actions. For as long as my behaviour is “someone else’s fault”, I don’t have to come to terms with the consequences of my actions; however, as soon as I admit that I acted out because I was stressed, impatient, or needing to feel powerful, I can progress towards making significant change in my behaviour.

The third component of taming travel rage is changing perceptions. Rather than assuming that people are doing things to purposely make your day difficult, face the reality that everybody else is just as busy as you are, and likely have no idea that they have done something to disrupt your day. See the innocence in their behaviour, and let it go. Your stress levels will decrease, and your day will run much more smoothly as a result.

How to Beat Hurry Sickness (TEN WAYS):

John Brunner’s book The Shock Wave Rider talks about the effects of “future shock” as developments in technology take place faster than the human being can adjust. Hurry sickness is an effect of “future shock” – as the world speeds up, human beings are expected to speed up with it; however, the consequence of this ever gaining speed is an inherent frustration and irritation with others who may not be moving as quickly! Here are ten ways to reduce hurry sickness.

1. Learn to say, “NO”. Contrary to popular belief, we cannot be all things to all people. When asked to do something that is outside the scope of your ability or your time, graciously decline, then offer an alternative solution to the asker’s problem. This way, you are still perceived as helpful, without having to commit to additional work.

2. Prioritize! We are often plagued by the urgency of the insignificant; before you know it, you can blow a whole day just by putting out fires while all the important tasks remain undone. Focus on the important things rather than the urgent; let go of or delegate dealing with the urgent so that you will not feel as overwhelmed.

3. Practice Slowing Down. When driving on the highway, put your car on cruise control rather than trying to keep up with the flow of traffic. When you watch other harried drivers whizzing by, smile and remind yourself that by laying off the gas pedal, you can relax and enjoy the process of getting from point A to B.

4. Coffee and caffeinated sodas exacerbate stress! Reduce your caffeine intake, and drink more water and natural juices.

5. Breathe deeply and exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. Clean air refreshes the brain so it can function more efficiently, helping you to make better decisions and fewer mistakes.

6. Take time outs. Five minutes of doing nothing seems like an eternity to people with hurry sickness. Taking a few minutes for some shut-eye, deep breathing, relaxation, or meditation can refresh you with enough energy to keep you going for a couple of more hours.

7. Do one thing at a time! Our society has become one of multi-tasking. We eat or talk on the cell phone while driving (a big no-no), we take our work with us on vacation, we use the Blackberry to send “important” messages while watching our kids play hockey… It is a myth that we can accomplish more by doing more than one thing at a time. We just end up feeling as though we have worked hard, and usually have no completed work to show for it! Focus on only one task at a time; you will accomplish more, and feel less stressed.

8. Revise your expectations of immediacy. Just because you want to live your life at the speed of sound doesn’t mean everyone else has to. Don’t take it personally if you have to wait. That’s just life!

9. Ask yourself, “do I have to do this… or do I choose to do this?” When you CHOOSE your activities, it puts you back in control of your life. You can choose to do what is important, and choose to say “no” when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Choose to respond to frustrations in a way that preserves your integrity and keeps you and those around you safe.

10. Take a vacation! Studies show that regular vacations can prolong your life and increase your cardiovascular health. People who are addicted to life in the fast lane will tell you that you can’t afford to take a vacation… The truth is – you can’t afford NOT to!



Reign in Rage by Beating Hurry Sickness - To learn more about this author, visit Julie Christiansen's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

E-Mail | Print | More

Related Articles
Reign in Rage by Beating Hurry Sickness
	Almost every day, we are confronted with stories in the news about people taking out their anger on perfect strangers: on the roads, in parking lots, even while riding a big wave. These incidences of rage seem to be...
Is Anger Now a Medical Issue?
	A November 2007 article states that road rage could be caused by Intermittent Explosive Disorder, making severe anger a medical condition. In this article, I openly and candidly respond to this notion of categorizin...
Using Time
	In our hurry-hurry world, the most popular phrases are, "We've got to get together sometime, but it seems that I'm always so busy." "Attend a neighborhood gathering? I just don't have the time!" "Visit with ...
UNDERSTANDING RAGE BUSTING THE ANGERBUSTERS
	Newton Hightower, LCSW and director of The Center for Anger Resolution, Inc., is spearheading the “Angerbuster’s Movement,” which is his attempt to eradicate anger from our society by suppressing natural emotions.
Anger Management
	We're often faced with statements, actions, arguments, behavior, etc. that is galling in the extreme. Whether it's road rage, an annoying co-worker, or a whiny teenager, it's an unfortunate but safe bet that you'll ...

---

Related Forum Posts
	It's Not What You Spend, It's About You
	Re: The Celebrity Apprentice - Episode 10
	Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful
	5 Facts That Will Have Your Re-Writing Your Web site...
	Ladies Who Launch New Release