In an increasingly frenetic world, where breaking news and social media often fuel the fire of our most volatile emotions, anger has become a palpable constant in the daily lives of many. From the busiest city streets to the quietest corners of our private lives, this overwhelming feeling not only affects our mental and physical health, but also weaves its way through our social interactions, leaving a trail of misunderstandings and conflicts. in its path. That is why, not only are self-help manuals and spiritual retreats the order of the day, but experts have also set to work in search of illuminating perspectives and practical strategies to face this omnipresent challenge, promising not to not only personal relief, but also stronger social cohesion in these turbulent times.
Among these experts are researchers at Nagoya University (Japan), who have discovered that after having been provoked or insulted, a simple method to reduce anger is to write your feelings on a piece of paper and then get rid of it. . “We expected that our method would suppress anger to some extent,” said lead researcher Nobuyuki Kawai. “However, we were surprised that anger was almost completely eliminated.”
This research is important because controlling anger at home and in the workplace can reduce negative consequences in both areas and save us from major problems (no one likes sleeping on the couch). Unfortunately, many anger management techniques proposed by specialists so far lack empirical research support, or may be difficult to remember when we are angry.
The results of this study, published in Scientific Reports, are the culmination of years of previous research on the association between the written word and anger reduction. It is based on work showing how interactions with physical objects can control a person’s mood.
For their project, Kawai and his graduate student Yuta Kanaya, both from the Graduate School of Computer Science at Nagoya University, asked participants to write short opinions about important social issues, such as whether smoking in public should be banned. They were then told that a doctoral student from Nagoya University would evaluate their writing. However, these students were complicit, so regardless of what they wrote, raters gave them low scores on intelligence, interest, friendliness, logic, and rationality, and participants received a handwritten insulting comment that consisted of low ratings of their text. , along the lines of: “I can’t believe an educated person thinks like this. I hope this person learns something while in college.”
After receiving the negative feedback, the researchers asked the participants to write down their thoughts about it, focusing on what triggered their emotions. Finally, one group of participants was asked to throw away the paper they wrote in a trash can or save it in a file on their desk. A second group was asked to destroy the document in a shredder or put it in a plastic box.
Students were then asked to rate their anger after the insult and after getting rid of or keeping the paper. As expected, all participants reported a higher level of anger after receiving insulting comments. However, the anger levels of people who threw their paper in the trash or shredded it returned to their baseline state after getting rid of the paper. Meanwhile, participants who kept a printed copy of the insult experienced only a small decrease in their overall anger.
Kawai envisions using his research to help entrepreneurs who find themselves in stressful situations. “This technique could be applied in the moment by writing down the source of the anger, like making a note and then throwing it in the trash when you’re angry in a business situation,” he explained.
In addition to its practical usefulness, this discovery may shed light on the origins of the Japanese cultural tradition known as “hakidashisara” (‘hakidashi’ refers to purging or spitting something out, and ‘sara’ refers to a plate) at the Hiyoshi Shrine. in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, outside Nagoya. Hakidashisara is an annual festival where people break small records that represent things that make them angry. Their findings may explain the sense of relief that participants report after leaving the festival.
Source: Scientific Reports
