Faith

Michael Sserunkuma works in the Chaplaincy at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and has witnessed the angry reactions of many patients and members of their family.

Having worked at the hospital for many years Michael knows that tempers can easily flare when people are dealing with their own illness or that of a loved one, and that it often falls to him to help placate the frustrated patients.

Speaking to Clare Catford on BBC Radio Berkshire Michael told us: "There are quite a lot of different situations in a hospital that make people very angry.

"One of the most common things we hear is when appointments are cancelled or if they have an operation and one or two things haven't quite gone the way they have expected; then they get frustrated, but that is fair because we all get angry as human beings".

Royal Berkshire Hospital

Michael works hands-on with both patients and families at the hospital and has had many experiences with angry people. He has quickly learnt the best way to diffuse a potentially volatile situation.

"I had one situation not so long ago, I went into see one patient who was not very well, the doctor had decided that some of the treatment had to be conducted differently and this person was not very happy.

"My job is then to calm the patient down, explain what is going on and why the treatment has been changed and help the patient realise that there is usually a good reason for doing it.

"Sometimes it's just the way the message has been given by the doctor or sometimes the way the patient interprets the message."

Michael has also encountered racially-motivated anger at the hospital.  And while this initially shocked him, he has since learnt to take a more diplomatic approach. 

"They happen every now and again," he says. "Sometimes I just think people should realise that we are such a diverse community and that, being diverse, we are constantly interacting with people of different colour, nationalities and languages.

"We all must have a sense of being able to relate to that."

He adds: "On the other hand, when I experience racism I have learnt to ask 'who is this person? Why are they reacting like this? And what could have been different if they had met me before?'

"I have to process that myself to respond in a constructive way.

"Sometimes I can't do that and then you have to just walk away, because I know that if I stay in that place I may say one or two things that I may regret later."

But Michael is also quick to forgive some people's apparent prejudice.

"I wouldn't get angry with a person like that."

Michael also relies heavily on his Christian faith to help him cope with any fiery situations and recalls one particular moment several years ago when an altercation with his sister made him approach anger in a more passive manner.

"I remember when I had just started on my Christian journey I had had an argument with my sister and she went away very annoyed screaming 'my Christian brother has got angry'. I was left thinking how I could have dealt with it differently.

"I went to a friend of mine and he said 'Christians aren't supposed to get angry'. But what the whole experience taught me was to think about my actions a lot more clearly, I have learnt to stop in my tracks before I might hurt people or make them angry.

"Secondly I look back on some relevant scripture in the Bible and what that teaches me. There is one piece in relation to anger that is a favourite of mine when Paul says in Ephesians 5:20,21, that if you do get angry not to nurse the anger, don't let the sun go down while you're still angry.

"So I can sit back and say well if I get angry in the morning I have the rest of the day to deal with it and that has helped me recognise that whilst I can get angry I also have a lot of time to deal with it".

But it's not just at work where Michael encounters anger and stress. Like all of us there are many trivial grievances that annoy Michael in day-to-day life.

"Little things that annoy me are things like when you are in the supermarket and people run into you, that really makes me angry because I think 'can you just look where you are going, if you had you wouldn't have run into me'. What's worse is when they don't say sorry."

Join Clare Catford on BBC Radio Berkshire to hear more local people discussing their life and their faith every Sunday morning from 6am - 9am.