Lisa T, Roo Team
In the veterinary industry, we are literally surrounded by emotions. Whether you’re the veterinarian trying to work with a panicked owner or you’re the practice manager trying to support your stressed out employees, you will inevitably come across people at their worst moments. There are proven ways to interact with people when they’re angry that will help to validate and alleviate their angst rather than exacerbate it.
Who among us hasn’t been confronted by accusations and insults when we’re just trying to do what’s best for our clients? The temptation to respond in kind can and must be ignored not only to lower the temperature in the room but also to maintain our own personal emotional wellbeing. It’s much harder for someone to keep yelling at a kind, empathetic, and understanding person.
Remember, just because someone is presenting as angry doesn’t mean they’re an angry person. Anger is just the behavioral response to everything else that might be going on under the surface. This is important to keep in mind when working with emotional pet owners. They might be yelling at you about the treatment of their pet, but underneath that anger is probably fear for what might happen to their beloved animal or guilt for not doing something sooner.
When we are kind to someone in response to their heightened emotional response, they are far more likely to a) moderate their own behavior to match ours and b) remember that we treated them kindly at a bad moment.
These lovely recommendations are based on responding to angry friends, but their wisdom can absolutely be applied to the way we interact with people in our professional lives, too.
Don’t forget to take care of yourselves while you’re taking care of literally everyone else!
