Anger has also helped me assist a woman who was being treated badly by another man. While everyone on the train was shocked that he was threatening to hit her and she was crying, I stood up and told him to back off. It didn’t help much, because she still got off the train with him, but I just couldn’t watch that injustice.

However, I’m also very aware of how the bystander effect works (part of my training as a paramedic), so I don’t blame the other people on the train. I also didn’t feel like I would be putting my life on the line; otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have stood up, either.

So with asserting boundaries via anger, it’s not just your own boundaries, but also the boundaries of others.