COLUMBUS, Ohio — Life is full of frustrations. While we can all relate to feeling angry and annoyed, researchers from The Ohio State University report that it’s actually a bad idea to “vent” about our personal problems. Why? Their study finds screaming about what angers us is unlikely to promote a calmer state of mind.
Instead, study authors recommend adopting one of various techniques employed to help fight stress and anger nowadays. Examples include:
According to the study, all of these approaches to calming down are more effective than venting and ranting.
The research team analyzed more than 150 studies encompassing over 10,000 people to reach these conclusions, discovering along the way that what really helps diminish feelings of anger is lowering physiological arousal. Put another way, turning down the proverbial heat. Activities known to increase overall arousal showed no effect on anger, but some activities made anger worse, such as jogging.
“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,” says senior author Brad Bushman, a professor of communication at Ohio State, in a media release. “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.”
This project was put together by first author Sophie Kjærvik, who completed the review for her Ohio State dissertation. Now a postdoctoral fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University, Kjærvik explains this research was partially inspired by the rising popularity of so-called rage rooms where people can smash items (glass, plates, electronics, etc.) to work through angry feelings.
“I wanted to debunk the whole theory of expressing anger as a way of coping with it,” Kjærvik adds. “We wanted to show that reducing arousal, and actually the physiological aspect of it, is really important.”
The review included 154 studies involving 10,189 participants of different genders, races, ages, and cultures. Researchers say they followed the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory while conducting this research. That theory states all emotions (anger included) feature physiological arousal and mental meanings. So, to lower anger levels, one can work on either of those.
Prior meta-analytic reviews have focused on changing mental meanings using cognitive behavioral therapy and produced promising results. However, Kjærvik and Bushman explain a meta-analytic review on the role of arousal fills a key gap in our understanding of how to resolve anger. Their analysis focused heavily on the examination of both arousal-increasing activities (hitting a bag, jogging, cycling, swimming) and arousal-decreasing activities (deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation, yoga).
Results indicate arousal-decreasing activities are effective at lowering rage levels, at least across both lab and field settings. Study authors used digital platforms or in-person instruction, and in group and individual sessions across multiple populations (college students and non-students, people with and without a criminal history, and people with and without intellectual disabilities).
Arousal-decreasing activities showing effectiveness at lowering anger across the board included deep breathing, relaxation, mindfulness, meditation, slow flow yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, diaphragmic breathing, and taking a timeout.
“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,” Kjærvik notes. “And yoga, which can be more arousing than meditation and mindfulness, is still a way of calming and focusing on your breath that has the 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.”
Conversely, activities that increase arousal appear generally ineffective at quelling rage, yet also produced a complex range of outcomes. For example, while jogging was the most likely activity to increase anger, physical education classes and playing ball sports showed an arousal-decreasing effect. This suggests, researchers say, that introducing an element of play into physical activity may help increase positive emotions or counteract negative feelings.
The conclusion that increased arousal is not an adequate answer to anger corresponds with previous work led by Prof. Bushman that linked venting anger with continued aggression.
“Certain physical activities that increase arousal may be good for your heart, but they’re definitely not the best way to reduce anger,” Prof. Bushman comments. “It’s really a battle because angry people want to vent, but our research shows that any good feeling we get from venting actually reinforces aggression.”
Study authors note many arousal-decreasing interventions that appear to lower anger levels are free or inexpensive and easy to access.
“You don’t need to necessarily book an appointment with a cognitive behavioral therapist to deal with anger. You can download an app for free on your phone, or you can find a YouTube video if you need guidance,” Kjærvik concludes. “It can’t be really hard because you’re in a state of fighting arousal, and you’re ready to fight if you’re really angry.”
The study is published in the Clinical Psychology Review.