How to deal with anger? Don’t vent or punch pillows; calm down

04/02/2024

Editorial of the Health Diary

How to deal with anger

Venting about something – person or event – that makes you angry may seem justifiable at the time, but it is not good for reducing anger effectively, say professors Sophie Kjaervik and Brad Bushman, from Ohio State University (USA).

Instead, techniques often used to deal with stress—deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, or even counting to 10—have been shown to be more effective at decreasing anger and aggression than taking it out on something or other people. in some.

The conclusion is well-founded: The two researchers analyzed more than 150 studies involving more than 10,000 participants, looking for experiments that conclusively show what really works to reduce anger.

If you remember experts and speakers talking about punching pillows, forget it. The take-home message is that to deal with anger, you need to turn down your physiological arousal – in other words, turn down the heat. Activities that increased arousal generally had no effect on anger, and some activities made it worse—especially running.

“I think it’s really important to dispel the myth that if you’re angry, you should vent – get it off your chest. Venting your anger may seem like a good idea, but there isn’t a shred of scientific evidence to support the catharsis theory.

“To reduce anger, it’s best to engage in activities that lower arousal levels. Despite what conventional wisdom might suggest, even running is not an effective strategy because it increases arousal levels and ends up being counterproductive,” said Bushman.

Anger is always yours

Dealing internally and calmly with anger makes perfect sense when you take into account that anger is an emotion. And this implies that it is your product.

Contrary to the popular jargon “So and so made me angry”, no one can “get inside you” and force you to generate any emotion. Anger is the result of your interpretation of something that happens around you, be it a fortuitous event or the well-known behavior of an unpleasant colleague.

Learn to deal with the situation and, little by little, you will produce less anger. While you can’t do this masterfully, follow the two researchers’ recommendations: When anger arises, try to return to your previous calm situation as quickly as possible, and for this, sometimes just counting to 10 is enough.