7 Ways to Handle Being an Angry Vegan
"Raise your words, not your voice! It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."
–Rumi
Anger is Normal
After that initial wave of shock, disappointment, and horror, the first feeling most vegans experience is anger. It can be an overwhelming, all-consuming rage targeted at everything and everyone in society. And if you’re not careful, it can suffocate you. But when society has bred to you think, speak, and act a certain way your entire life, in ways that go against every fiber of your being, how can you possibly cope with that? How can you move forward with your life, just brush that grand deception aside as if it was all justified? As a once-angry vegan, I feel this pain, and I have no judgments on your anger. But I hope that I can help you rein it in to make you as effective a vegan and activist you can be.
Understand It & Learn How to Control It
It is very important to analyze why you’re angry and where it’s coming from. Are you angry at an individual or a group? Are you angry at yourself? Are you angry at society? Find the root of your rage, whatever it is, and then determine why it is you feel that way. Is it because of the way people act? Is it because of the apathy you once felt for animals? Is it because you see animal exploitation everywhere you look? Finally, what can you do about it? What will you do to deal with these feelings so you're not constantly overwhelmed by them? When you understand these emotions, you then have the ability to handle them appropriately.
Educate & Communicate
The best step to take when you’re angry is backward. Don’t run ahead without knowing what to do. Do your research, learn about various forms of activism and animal exploitation, and understand everything you can. Once you’ve done that, or while you’re in this process, reach out to vegans in your area. They can help you work through this anger and make you feel less alone. Check out "A Guide to Vegan Education & Activism," "Should Vegans Acquaint with Nonvegans?" and "Should Vegans Watch Graphic Footage?" to get started.
Get Productive
When you understand your anger and how to use it, then it’s time to wield it effectively. Anger is not an impediment to veganism; it’s the fuel. Look at activists like Joey Carbstrong or Rob Banks or Gary Yourofsky. They are all kind and caring souls, but the exploitation of animals also makes them angry. (If you follow Joey and his Light up the World tour videos, he always starts by saying, “There’s a fire inside your heart. Let it light up the world.”) Instead of being sweet and polite, they are straightforward in their activism. And, remember, you don’t have to follow the same path as everyone else. While most people are more comfortable with civil conversation, some feel better with a megaphone in their hand yelling in the streets. Some use this anger to infiltrate farms and slaughterhouses, document the horrors, and save animals.[1] What you have to understand is that all vegans are angry, but we all use it differently.
Take a Break
There was a point not long ago where I ate (obviously), lived, and breathed veganism. I didn’t find any interest in other things I used to enjoy; I wanted my life to revolve around veganism and the animals. Well, that didn’t last too long, maybe six or eight months. After that, I took a three-month hiatus from veganism, aside from the occasional post on social media. I had become tired and frustrated all the time, and it was harming my mental health. Of course, it’s always better to have things outside of veganism so you’re not always right in the thick of things (unless you can handle that, in which case I applaud you). And if you need to, take some time off. There’s nothing wrong with focusing on your own wellbeing sometimes. In fact, that’s generally what keeps you active and committed long-term. There are enough of us now that you don’t have to worry about speaking up for animals every moment of the day.
Find Inspiration Elsewhere
Don’t forego everything you loved before. You’ll likely still love those things after going vegan. Try to stay involved with life as it was before, or if you can’t do that, find new hobbies. For me, I enjoy music and reading mostly. I have found a creative outlet, in the form of this blog, to channel the hardest parts of veganism into positivity. I make time to spend with my dog, taking her on a walk or getting out to exercise in other ways. It might be easier to do this if you make a list of things you enjoy doing and things you’d like to try; then, every week or however often you’d like, you can check each item off your list to ensure you’re making time for yourself. You’d be surprised where you may find inspiration for your activism in places outside of veganism. If you’re having a hard time caring about other things, try meditating or visiting an animal sanctuary, anything to get your mind off the anger and unhappiness.
Make Room for Happiness
Probably the most important thing to take away from this is to not wallow in your anger. The way I see the world is as a coexistence, a balance between the light and dark. Existence is a natural balance of these two opposing forces, and we have to embrace both elements within ourselves and as part of the world in which we live. Do something to fill that dark, angry hole with light and happiness. Sometimes, it really helps to laugh at the pain, for if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.
Don’t Try to Stifle It – Be Angry
Many people may try to tell you that you need to calm down, that being angry gets in the way of effective activism and communication. While that may be true sometimes, it’s worse to try to hold in your anger. So, let it out sometimes. We all get upset at the world, and we can’t just bottle it up inside. You do what you have to do to work through your anger. Go to the gym, go to an activism event, do something to work through it all. But what you must remember is to not do this at the expense of veganism. Let it out. Get angry. But don’t be reckless, because, unfortunately, how you get angry reflects back on other vegans and veganism as a whole. If you yell, “death to all carnists!” in the streets, that won’t help the cause. And that’s why it’s so important to educate yourself, find other vegans to talk to, take breaks if you need them, and open yourself up to happy experiences as well.[2]
be conscious, be kind, be vegan
[2] Vystopia: The Anguish of Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Clare Mann