Choosing Peace in a World Addicted to Outrage - One Day at a Time

By Dennis Carradin, NCC, LPCMH, BCETS
Founder, The Trauma Survivors Foundation

This may not be my usual kind of post, but something’s been gnawing at me—and if I’ve learned anything in this field, it’s that when something lingers in your gut, it’s probably worth saying out loud.

Lately, I’ve been overwhelmed—not by tragedy or trauma, not even by personal hardship (though like anyone, I’ve got my share). What’s been weighing on me is the noise. The constant, unrelenting flood of anger, bitterness, and complaining coming from everywhere.

From social media threads to casual conversations to the news cycle on an endless loop, it feels like we’ve all become addicted to outrage. And not even over things that matter most of the time—just rage for the sake of rage. Manufactured offense. Keyboard crusades. Personal vendettas disguised as virtue.

And I can’t help but wonder:
When did we all decide to just wake up angry?
When did bitterness become a personality trait?
When did hate become the default?

Choosing Anger vs. Choosing Connection

Every day I work with trauma survivors—first responders, nurses, survivors of violence, veterans, and people just trying to hold their world together. They’ve earned the right to feel exhausted, angry, broken. They’ve lived through hell.

And yet, many of them are still trying—trying to choose healing over hate.
Trying to be kind.
Trying to show up for their families and friends and for themselves.

So when I see people, especially those not facing true hardship, weaponizing their frustration as an identity… it hits me hard. Because I know the difference. I’ve sat with the man who lost his partner in a line-of-duty death. I’ve held the hand of a woman who survived domestic violence and still smiles at strangers. I’ve listened to the tearful silence of a paramedic who couldn’t save a child but still gets up every day to try again.

They’re not out here screaming at baristas or launching rants because someone didn’t share their opinion on TikTok.
They’re living. They’re loving. They’re surviving.
And sometimes, they’re healing.

That’s the difference.
They’ve been through trauma, but they’re not letting it turn them cruel.

My Morning Was Boring—and Beautiful

This morning, I got in my Jeep and drove to work. I didn’t rage-scroll social media. I didn’t start a debate. I didn’t invent a crisis to fuel my ego or outrage.

I just... lived my life.

I picked up coffee at Wawa. Said “good morning” to the staff. Jeep-waved like a lunatic to 47 other Jeep owners. Smiled at a few people in the parking lot. And then I came into my office, turned on the lights, and prepared to sit with people who are doing the hardest thing in the world—trying to heal.

And let me be crystal clear:
My life is not without stress, trauma, grief, or frustration.
But I refuse to manufacture misery to feel something. I refuse to spread poison just because I’m having a bad day.

We Are Responsible for What We Create

Here’s the truth, and it might sting:

You are responsible for the energy you bring into the world.

If you walk around ready to snap, bite, or blame—ask yourself: Is this coming from pain I haven’t healed? Or is it just habit?
Have I confused discomfort with injustice?
Have I mistaken my loudness for impact?

You can’t build a life—or a society—on hate, cynicism, and bitterness.

Not sustainably. Not meaningfully.
And not without eventually poisoning yourself in the process.

You Don’t Have to Live There

I get it. Anger feels powerful. It feels good in the moment. It gives you a rush. A sense of purpose, even.

But here’s what most people won’t say:
Anger is often just fear in a louder costume.
Fear of not being heard. Fear of being small. Fear of not mattering.

And while that fear is valid, it doesn’t mean it gets to run your life.

You don’t have to argue with everyone who thinks differently.
You don’t have to pick fights with strangers online.
You don’t have to prove you’re right by making everyone else feel wrong.

You can just… be pleasant.

You can wave. Smile. Hold a door open. Stay off your soapbox for five minutes. Listen more than you speak.
You can choose peace.
Even when you’re tired.
Especially when you’re tired.

You Don’t Need to Win Every Battle to Win the War

And maybe that’s the quiet revolution we need right now—not more fighting, but more grace.

Maybe the most radical thing you can do in 2025 is not yell.
Not take the bait.
Not prove a point.

Maybe the most radical thing you can do is just exist with kindness and authenticity in a world starving for both.

At The Trauma Survivors Foundation, we see the worst of humanity—but we also see the best. We see people rising out of darkness, not because they scream the loudest, but because they dare to soften, to heal, and to help others along the way.

So no, this isn’t my usual post. But I’m done pretending this level of societal rage is normal. It’s not. It’s destructive. And we don’t have to keep feeding it.

I’m going to keep waving at Jeeps, smiling at strangers, and choosing to do the hard work of healing—not because I’m a saint, but because I know the cost of doing the opposite.

Choose better. Choose peace.

And if that offends you?
Take a breath.
That’s your starting point.

If you’re ready to step off the outrage train and into healing, we’re here for you.
Visit www.TheTraumaSurvivorsFoundation.com to explore support services, trainings, crisis response programs, or to get involved in changing lives—not just complaining about them.