
Events & Workshops
How to Deal With Angry People
by Dr. Ryan Martin, Anger Professor
Dr. Martin offers 10 highly effective, research-based strategies for coping with the anger you have to face, whether at home, at work, on the street, or online. The Civility Project and Mental Health Focus Group will host three free community events:
- Tuesday, October 24 from 5-6 p.m. – Book Discussion with Dr. Martin, Sister Bay Library with Dr. Martin joining via Zoom
- Thursday, October 26 from 5-6 p.m. – Book Discussion with Dr. Martin in-person at the Sturgeon Bay Library
- Wednesday, November 1 from 5-6 p.m. – An in-person presentation by Dr. Ryan Martin at the Sturgeon Bay Library
The Door County Civility Project is offering 200 free copies of the book “How to Deal with Angry
People” written by the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay (UWGB) professor Dr. Ryan Martin to the Door County community. Dr. Ryan Martin, also known as “The Anger Professor” on social media by his hundreds of thousands of followers, offers insight into anger and research-based strategies for coping with the anger that we all encounter. His book dives further into understanding where anger comes from and offers techniques to de-escalate uncomfortable and potentially violent interactions. Shirley Senarighi of the Door County Civility Project said this of the book, “Dr. Martin reminded me of the significance of the little decisions we make every day in our interactions with others. Dealing effectively with angry people is about those decisions—deciding to actually use one or more tools we already know how
to use.”
Earlier this year, the Door County Mental Health Focus Group—which is a coalition of providers and others who work in the mental health space—set up to offer a community book club around the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) book, “You Are Not Alone”. Door County Civility Project had worked with Dr. Ryan Martin in the past and sought out the Mental Health Focus Group to partner on another community book club, this time around anger and angry people. The Mental Health Focus Group has recently discussed the need for de-escalation training for a variety of professions—really anyone who interacts with people—so the offer to partner on this next book club was well received. Shauna Blackledge is a Public Health Educator for Door County and a co-facilitator of the Mental Health Focus Group; she said, “We hear first-hand that people are angrier. Our librarians report taking the brunt of these combative behaviors, which perhaps not so ironically, is the opening of Dr. Martin’s book. We see online harassment running rampant, rude behavior toward our service industry workers, disobedience toward law enforcement, explosive behaviors towards flight attendants, the list goes on.”
Starting September 1st, community members can get their hands on a free copy of the book at these locations: Forestville Library, Sturgeon Bay Library, Fish Creek Library, Sister Bay Library, or United Way of Door County, while supplies last.
If you would like to host a private workshop, please contact us at us at CivilityProject@GiveDoorCounty.org.