Helpful outlets don’t just fall in your lap, though. You have to do the work of trying things and see what sticks. You can start with small, achievable distractions if that makes it easier, too. For me, it’s taking a super hot shower and singing along loudly with music blaring. It’s just a short amount of time, but it stops my brain from going down a bad road sometimes when I can tell I’m about to have a rough time.

You are not a passenger in your own life, and you are going to have to start actively making changes if you want things to improve for you. It’s not going to just randomly happen to you.

The worst thing you can do when people are working hard to get a reaction out of you is to give them one. That doesn’t mean you have to be a doormat, but as others have said, there are more constructive ways to react to these kinds of workplace issues. By lashing out you’re only hurting your own credibility in this situation.

You keep repeating the same defenses of the behavior you say you’re trying to stop, though, so I am not quite convinced you want to change these things. It seems more like you want to change how people react to your behavior. If I am wrong, then I apologize and sincerely suggest dialectical behavioral therapy. It teaches you how to manage intense emotions in the moment.

I’ve worked in animal rescues, shelters, and at a veterinary clinic. I’ve interacted with probably hundreds of pit bulls in my life over the years, and I’ve fostered more than ten of them. My fosters were all lovely with me, other people (especially children), my resident dogs, and all my cats. One went on to become a service dog for a little boy with autism, and my last foster is now a support dog for a young adult with severe autism.

While I have met some pits with behavioral issues and different types of aggression, they are few and far between. There are many, many other breeds that have a higher percentage of individuals with dangerous behavioral issues than pit bulls.

I would encourage anyone who has such patently false ideas about these dogs to volunteer at their local shelter and get some actual experience with bully breeds. If that’s too big an ask, have a conversation with the vet techs and doctor assistants at your veterinary clinic, and ask them which breeds they have the most difficulty with during appointments. It won’t be put bulls. There is a reason that very few people that work with dogs share your opinion.