As physicians, we're pleading with you to get a little angrier

Yahoo

28-03-2025

As an infectious diseases physician and emergency physician, we have been trained to think objectively, remain level-headed and stay calm amid uncertainty. But watching the Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. research and public health infrastructure — which will allow infectious diseases to spread like wildfire and disrupt progress to combat all other conditions — has made us angry.
Anger is usually looked down upon, even pathologized. It is a codable diagnosis in the International Classification of Diseases, and there are evidence-based treatments to mitigate or cope with it. However, in this moment, we don't feel apologetic or ashamed about our anger; we'd argue that anger isn't as widespread in the U.S. as it ought to be.
There is so much for scientists and health professionals to be really, truly angry about right now. Successful health-advancing institutions and initiatives that have taken decades to build are being derailed or discarded without a second thought. Clinical trials that serve as the last hope for dying patients are being abruptly halted. Disruptions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration and uncertainty in research funding at universities are putting our patients, children and friends at risk, from both old diseases that they should never have to worry about and new diseases that they could be protected against — if we were to maintain a robust scientific and public health response system. This should make us angry.
Measles should have been completely eradicated long ago, but because of anti-vaccine conspiracies, 2025 cases have already far surpassed those of 2024. Such destructive views and malicious lies have been propagated by our new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Funding has been ripped from the U.S. Agency for International Development, housing programs, and scientific research on HIV prevention and cancer and Alzheimer's disease. There are plans to gut Medicaid, which finances vital health care services for 84 million Americans, including women, children and older adults.
Ebola has broken out in Uganda, but because President Donald Trump ended our relationship with the World Health Organization, we will likely not know when it gets here and, once we do know, it may be too late to respond effectively, especially with recent large cuts to health departments and programs that respond to outbreaks and perform pandemic-related community outreach and education.
Then there are the arbitrary firings of federal employees at health agencies and slashing of scientist training programs including those focused on preventing overdose deaths. Though the onslaughts keep coming daily, Trump's approval rating has averaged about 45%, which, in our mind, means not enough Americans are angry enough — or do not know that they should be.
To be sure, anger can manifest in harmful and destructive behaviors, which we obviously don't endorse. But recognizing and unleashing one's anger in constructive ways can be beneficial. It can fuel productive action. Evidence shows it may lead to better mental health outcomes than other emotions we are prone to feeling in this time, including depression or anxiety. Some research shows that naming emotions, especially unpleasant ones, can help regulate the nervous system and lead to a sense of calm.
As Dr. Christina Girgis, associate professor of psychiatry at Loyola University Medical Center, told us, 'Basically, anger is something that we (as society) have attributed to negative descriptions, so people are afraid to feel it, but it is actually healthy and freeing to acknowledge and feel your anger.'
Even the Christian Bible gives people permission to feel what they feel when it says 'Be angry, but sin not.'
We shouldn't forget that anger can reflect ideal qualities, such as love and a sense of justice. It is a normal part of being a caring person and of seeing what and who we care about be 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 harms threatening their health, safety, longevity and well-being. In this frame, failing to be angry is a more concerning symptom, one that signals indifference, complacency or lack of awareness.
So perhaps the question right now is not whether we should be angry (yes), but rather, how best we should focus and deploy our anger. Psychologist Juli Fraga has written about how to validate and release our anger: It involves honoring 'what your anger wants you to do,' and figuring out how to make 'good use' of the anger.
We know that many people are expressing their anger and translating it to action. People have been marching and protesting and speaking up at town hall meetings, calling and writing their legislators, starting petitions, posting on social media. But it doesn't feel sufficient yet. We need more visible and constructive anger from everyone — from ordinary individuals to institutional and elected leaders — around the fact that this administration is dismantling the infrastructure that keeps us physically healthy and economically stable. Within the scientific community, we need to make sure we translate what is happening to science and health care clearly and loudly to the public and show strong support for actions that will ensure the survival of the scientific process and of the institutions that do vital work to make our communities healthy.
Are you feeling angry about what you're seeing happen around you? Good. Our prescription is that you keep getting angry and use that anger well.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com