How do you control anger? Discover a method proven by science

You know those moments when all you feel is anger? Getting rid of this feeling can bring you great relief and help you deal with its cause. There are several ways to do this and science has proven its effectiveness in one of these ways.

Researchers from the Graduate School of Informatics at Nagoya University in Japan evaluated a technique that involves writing down your angry feelings on paper and then destroying them. The result was surprising.

Rabies test

To evaluate the method of writing down angry feelings on paper and destroying them, the researchers administered the “anger test” to volunteers. In the first stage, participants were asked to write a short text containing their opinions on social problems, such as banning smoking in public places.

They all received the same negative evaluation and comment on the script, regardless of the quality of the production: “I can't believe an educated person thinks that way. I hope this person learns something while at university.”

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The group was then divided into two parts. The first was instructed to write his feelings about the comments on paper and throw them in the trash or tear them up. Meanwhile, others did the same, but kept the document in a plastic container.

As expected, after reading the comment, all participants felt angry. However, those who got rid of or destroyed the written outburst had lower levels of anger. Those who kept the document showed only a slight decline in morale.

We hoped that our method would suppress anger to some extent. However, we were surprised to see that the anger had almost completely disappeared.

Nobuyuki Kawai, author of the paper Express Medical.

Japanese culture

Discoveries about this technique could shed light on the origins of the ancient Japanese cultural tradition known as hakedashisara. This festival is typical of Hiyoshi Shrine in Kyusu, Aichi Prefecture, on the outskirts of Nagoya, and is held annually. In it, people break small discs that represent the things that bother them.

According to Kawai, the process of destroying the “vent sheet” can be helpful in high-stress situations, such as at work. Therefore, when you feel the urge to hurl various insults out of anger, regardless of the place or time, remember the notebook.

The study was published in Scientific reports.