Curbing pedestrian rage: A side effect of the sidewalk

I’ve heard about “Sidewalk Rage” and I wonder if I have it.  I get really angry at slow walkers and find myself cursing them at times.  How can I stop?

Sidewalk rage is all the buzz lately, especially in big cities.  Simply put, it’s characterized by feeling angered by people who move at a slower pace than you. This produces a hostile response such as bumping into others, cursing, hogging the sidewalk, and really just being a disrespectful jerk. Fact is: the pedestrian pace in big cities is slow by virtue of the density of people, so unless there’s a mass exodus or you’re moving to farm country that won’t change.

Sidewalk ragers have an idea of how they think others should be:  keep to the right, walk at a certain pace, keep moving.  In a perfect world, or the military, people would follow such etiquette. But there are no universal rules.  People can walk as they wish.   The difference between a healthy pedestrian and a rager is the latter has a negative view of others, is overly-sensitive, over-generalizes, and blows things out of proportion. The rager might think: “I’m going to be so late” or “this sucks”.  Angry venting only reinforces the thoughts and makes them occur more automatically.

Here’s how to throw your rage to the curb:

• Change your thinking.  “Sure, it’s no fun, but this is one of the pitfalls of living in a crowded city.”
• Don’t personalize things.  Rather than thinking “What an idiot this person is for walking so slowly”, look at alternative explanations such as he’s lost, or he doesn’t see you.
• Walk tall and look straight ahead to get a full view of all angles ahead of you.
• Use a less traveled alternative route
• Keep in mind, the greater the population, the slower the pace.
• For good measure, remember, the woman you’re cursing could be someone’s mother or grandmother.  Think how you would want yours to be treated in a similar situation.

Jonathan Alpert is a licensed psychotherapist. Find him on Facebook and Twitter, and look for his new book, "BE FEARLESS: Change Your Life in 28 Days," this April.