Anger illustration
While often earning a bad rap, anger is a foundational emotion. Without it, our forebears likely would have lost the battle for survival. It helped them muster the energy and focus to overcome physical threats. Today we know that, on its face, anger is neither bad nor good. That determination emerges from how we express it and the ways it influences our behavior. For decades, psychology encouraged us to better control anger by venting. But, no more.
Before behavioral scientists conducted a review of 154 studies focused on so-called anger management, the recommended approach was built largely on a metaphor. We compared angry people to steam boilers. According to that paradigm, inside us, anger builds up the emotional pressure, threatening to reach a bursting point when all hell breaks loose. To address this, we were advised to vent, to release that pressure in order to avoid a full eruption. This even spawned the development of so-called “rage rooms” where people could throw things, punch pillows, emit so-called primal screams or even throw themselves against padded walls.
Physiologically and psychologically, anger is a state of heightened arousal. The body goes into “battle stations” mode while the mind becomes singularly focused on the real or perceived threat. However, contrary to the steam boiler metaphor, venting one’s anger does not reduce this state of arousal. Instead, “blowing off steam” actually amplifies it. More often than not, venting leads to rage rather than relief.
Angry rants can also damage one’s health. Researchers identified a link between unleashing one’s wrath and what they call “blood vessel dysfunction,” which amplifies the risk of heart attack and stroke, particularly in people with underlying conditions in this regard. Other studies showed the extreme stress from “losing it” damps down immunity for several hours, increasing susceptibility to various illnesses. These deleterious impacts are not nearly as pronounced in response to other challenging emotions, such as anxiety and depression.
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Emotional Hijacking
There are broader social effects as well. Consider how many people are becoming emotionally hijacked by anger and rage. We witness it on social media (think haters), on our highways, in widespread incivility, in political shouting matches, domestic violence and similar demonstrations of angry venting. Incidences of gun violence often arise from enraged persons surrendering their self-control and opting to “cut loose.”
So, instead of encouraging people to give their anger free reign in the interests of their mental health, we should be educating them about how to repress themselves. Repression is not a popular term, but it clearly has a place in regulating our behavior. Managing anger is one of them. But how?
Effective approaches need to focus on reducing the state of heightened physiological arousal that anger catalyzes. You might think vigorous exercise would expend sufficient energy to accomplish this, but not so. Running, weight lifting, even robust swimming and cycling, all amplify physiological arousal, adding fuel to the fire. In contrast, activities like tai chi, yoga, strolling outside, breath work, cuddling with a pet, listening to soothing music and nature immersion decrease arousal and restore greater emotional control.
We also know that self-talk can influence arousal states, up or down. When angry, it’s easy to fall into an obsessive cognitive loop of self-righteous thoughts, often about being treated unfairly, victimized, insulted or humiliated. This kind of cogitating pokes at the inner bear, so to speak. To counter this, something as simple as quickly writing down what we are angry about and then ripping it up and throwing it away, even burning or shredding it, lowers one’s emotional temperature. This approach may sound simplistic, but the researchers characterized the effect as “remarkable” rather than minor.
Another way to short-circuit angry arousal is to “lose your mind and come to your senses.” For example, splashing cold water on one’s face can interrupt an angry thought cycle, interrupting the cognitive loop by interjecting sensory awareness. Another method is called “the three threes.” You look at, listen to and touch three things in the immediate environment, interrupting the angry thoughts.
There is power in anger. But, when angry, true power resides in restraint.
