Quietly Seethed with Rage

We are devastated by the Virginia Tech mass murders. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the grieving families and the college community who have lost loved ones and friends.

We all are asking the questions "How could this violence have been prevented?, What was going on with the gunman who called himself: Question Mark?"

Let me say that there are no simple answers. Investigators continue to discover more about the perpetrator, Cho Seung-Hui. Though he had no history of violence - he was very disturbed - psychologically - he was a stalker, had been suicidal, was a loner, had written some very graphic and disturbing plays, and had "quietly seethed with rage".

What can we learn from this horrific incident?

Consider these insights:
1. We need to take responsibility for: our thoughts, actions and personal change. We need to be compassionate change-agents in an unstable world.
We need to get help if our anger crosses the line to seething rage.
There have been many posts in this forum from people who felt rageful and some have verbalized thoughts of killing others. This is very troubling because what people think about - they most likely will act out. Venting thoughts of killing others is evil and dangerous!

2. Identify when to help others and how to protect ourselves: We cannot take lightly what people say and do. We need to recognize when other people around us are deteriorating, explore how to help them and report when their behavior becomes threatening.
We need to take steps to protect ourselves from people who are batterers, stalkers, controllers, threatening, harrassing, intimidating, etc. More caution should be taken and boundaries put into place such as not emailing strangers, etc.

3. Can anger management help? When people are struggling with psychological disorders - they need professional intervention. When people have deteriorated to the point of "Question Mark" - they are a danger to others and need to be restrained by law enforcement.

Anger management is educational and provides strategies and skills for people who are mentally capable of change and willing to change. Anger management helps people change their thinking, self-talk, behavior, communication and learn to develop empathy and forgiveness.

People who are batterers, have mental health or personality disorders, are psychotic, have severe developmental disabilities are generally not good candidates for anger management programs.

4. If you are quietly seething with rage - you should be concerned and take steps towards change. You need to learn how to express the feelings in ways that are appropriate and helpful.

If you are quietly seething with rage - you need help. You may need a professional counselor. See http://www.nbcc.org for a referral. You could benefit from studying the anger management resources and courses offered at: EDIT SPAM

Rage is just one step away from violence. It's time to deal with the rage in a healthy way. It's time to do all it takes to prevent more blood-shed and violence.