Don’t rant about this – but venting makes things worse.
New research has discovered that getting things off your chest may feel good in the moment, but in the long term it’s not effective at reducing the rage.
A new study published in the Clinical Psychology Review suggests using techniques that address stress have been shown to be more effective at decreasing anger and aggression than venting, as the key is to lower physiological arousal.
In other words, calm down.
Senior author and professor of communication at Ohio State University Dr Brad Bushman said: ‘I think it’s really important to bust the myth that if you’re angry you should blow off steam – get it off your chest.
‘Venting anger might sound like a good idea, but there’s not a shred of scientific evidence to support catharsis theory.
‘To reduce anger, it is better to engage in activities that decrease arousal levels. Despite what popular wisdom may suggest, even going for a run is not an effective strategy because it increases arousal levels and ends up being counterproductive.’
The team analysed 154 studies which involved 10,189 participants to determine the best way to reduce anger.
They looked at the difference between arousal-increasing activities such as jogging and punching a bag, and arousal-decreasing techniques like mindfulness and relaxation techniques.
The results found that activities which help lower the body’s arousal state are universally effective in reducing anger in lab settings and the field, as well as in person, digitally, in group and one-on-one settings. These include deep breathing, relaxation, mindfulness, meditation, slow flow yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, diaphragmic breathing and taking a timeout.
Relaxation techniques were effective for college students and non-students, people with and without a criminal history, and people with and without intellectual disabilities.
First author Dr Sophie Kjærvik, a post-doctoral fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the research was partly prompted by the rising popularity of rage rooms which promote smashing things like glass, plates and electronics to work through angry feelings.
‘I wanted to debunk the whole theory of expressing anger as a way of coping with it,’ she said. ‘We wanted to show that reducing arousal, and actually the physiological aspect of it, is really important.’
Activities increasing arousal were ineffective in reducing anger and produced a range of outcomes.
Jogging, in particular, was the most likely to increase anger, but physical education classes and playing ball sports had an arousal-decreasing effect – the researchers suggest having an element of play may counter negative emotions.
‘It was really interesting to see that progressive muscle relaxation and just relaxation in general might be as effective as approaches such as mindfulness and meditation,’ said Dr Kjærvik.
‘Yoga, which can be more arousing than meditation and mindfulness, is still a way of calming and focusing on your breath that has a similar effect in reducing anger.
‘Obviously, in today’s society, we’re all dealing with a lot of stress, and we need ways of coping with that, too. Showing that the same strategies that work for stress actually also work for anger is beneficial.’
The researchers suggest that many arousal-reducing methods of reducing anger are free or inexpensive and easy to access, and could be as simple as downloading an app on your phone or following a YouTube video.
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