As a doctor of infectious diseases and emergency doctors, we were trained to think objectively, stay at high level and stay calm in the middle of uncertainty. But to look at the dismantling by the Trump administration of research and public health infrastructure in the United States – which will allow infectious diseases to spread like forest fires and to disrupt progress to combat all other conditions – has made us angry.
We do not feel excused or ashamed of our anger; We would say that anger is not as widespread as it should be.
Anger is generally despised, even pathologized. This is a codable diagnosis in the international classification of diseases, and there are treatments based on evidence to mitigate it or cope with it. However, at the moment, we do not feel excused or ashamed of our anger; We would say that anger is not as widespread in the United States as it should be.
There are so many things so that scientists and health professionals are really, really angry at the moment. Successful Health institutions And the initiatives that have taken decades to build are being derailed or rejecting without a second reflection. Clinical trials that serve as the last hope for dying patients are suddenly stopped. The disturbances of centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and uncertainty in the financing of research in universities endanger our patients, children and our friends, from the two ancient diseases that they should never care about and new health diseases. This should get angry.
The measles should have been completely eradicated a long time ago, but because of the anti-vaccine plots, 2025 cases have already exceeded those of 2024. Such destructive opinions and malicious lies have been propagated by our new secretary of the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
The funding was expelled from the American agency for international development, housing programs and scientific research on HIV prevention and cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. There is plans to inhabit Medicaidwhich finances vital health care services for 84 million Americans, including women, children and the elderly.
Ebola broke out in UgandaBut because President Donald Trump has ended our relations with the World Health Organization, we will probably not know when he arrives here and, once we know, it can be too late to respond effectively, especially with large cuts Health services and programs that respond to epidemics and carry out community awareness and education related to the pandemic.
Then there are the arbitrary dismissals of federal employees in health agencies and the reduction of scientists’ training programs, including those focused on the prevention of overdose deaths. Although onslaughts continue to come every day, Trump’s approval rating has an average of around 45%Which, in our mind, means that not enough Americans are angry enough – or do not know that they should be.
Certainly, anger can manifest itself in harmful and destructive behaviors, which we obviously do not approve. But recognizing and unstopping your anger in a constructive manner can be beneficial. It can supply productive action. Evidence shows that this can lead to better Mental health results that the other emotions that we are inclined to feel in this period, including depression or anxiety. A few research shows that the name of emotions, especially unpleasant emotions, can help regulate the nervous system and lead to a feeling of calm.
Like Dr. Christina Girgis, an associate professor of psychiatry at the Loyola University Medical Center, said to us: “Basically, anger is something that we (as a society) have attributed to negative descriptions, so people are afraid of feeling it, but it is in fact healthy and freed to recognize and feel your anger.”
Even the Christian Bible gives people permission to feel what they feel when he says “Be angry, but not sin.“”
People are afraid to feel it, but it is actually healthy and liberating to recognize and feel your anger.
Dr Christina Girgis, associate professor of psychiatry
We must not forget that anger can reflect ideal qualities, such as love and a sense of justice. It is a normal part to be an attentive person and to see what and who we care about being threatened. When anger reflects compassion for those who are directly and indirectly affected by today’s assault on medicine and science, it begins to seem not only acceptable and appropriate, but necessary. It validates an investment in our communities, an appreciation of the real damage threatening their health, their safety, their longevity and their well-being. In this context, default Being angry is a more worrying symptom, the one that signals indifference, complacency or lack of conscience.
So maybe the question right now is not to know if we have to be angry (yes), but rather how we must best focus and deploy our anger. Psychologist Juli Fraga wrote about how to validate and release our anger: This implies honoring “what your anger wants you to do” and to find how to make the “good use” of anger.
We know a lot of people are expressing their anger and translating it into action. People walked and protested and expressed during the town hall meetings, called and written their legislators, starting petitions, publishing on social networks. But that doesn’t seem enough yet. We need a more visible and constructive anger of everyone – from ordinary individuals to institutional and elected leaders – around the fact that this administration dismantles the infrastructure that keeps us healthy and economically stable. Within the scientific community, we must make sure to translate what is happening to clearly and noisily health care and health care and show strong support for actions that will ensure the survival of the scientific process and institutions that do vital work to make our communities healthy.
Do you feel angry with what you see happening around you? GOOD. Our prescription is that you continue to get angry and use this anger.