About the episode
What is the best thing to do when something makes you very angry and you want to get rid of that anger quickly? Scream into a pillow? Break something? Want to exercise everything? According to this research, better not.
Scientists compared more than 150 studies to find out what works best: increasing arousal or decreasing it?
In this case, excitement means how energetic and alert someone is. If that excitement is high, it is often accompanied by a high heart rate, rapid breathing and the production of sweat. Anger can also cause this state.
The researchers saw that when you compare the results of all these studies, anger is more likely to decrease if you try to get out of that high excitement. Consider: paying attention to your breathing, yoga, or simply relaxing your muscles.
This applied to the experiments in the lab as well as in real life, per individual or during a group session, offline and online. And it was seen in students and non-students, criminals and non-criminals, and people of all different genders, countries and ages.
Running around on my own didn’t seem to help. Group sports with a ball are sometimes possible, probably because of the playful aspect involved.
But anyway, if you want to get rid of your tantrum quickly: chill it out and save that punching bag for another time.
Read more about the research here: Feeling Angry? Chilling Out Helps More Than Blowing Off Steam
