Let’s imagine that you were cut off on the way to work, that your boss passed you over for the latest promotion, or that a close relative refused to get vaccinated for Covid-19.
Almost everyone has experienced a situation where they felt angry. The Ohio State University’s Brad Bushman, professor of communication at The Ohio State University in Columbus, said people often vent to get rid of their fiery feelings, but that’s not always the best course.
Experts Say These Are The Best And Worst Ways To Handle Anger
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta told Bushman: Turning down the heat rather than venting anger is the best approach. According to Gupta, anger is created by an emotional reaction to an actual or imagined threat or prompting. It can range from mild irritation to blind rage, which, if not addressed properly, can be health-related.
According to Ryan Martin, associate dean, and professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, when emotions trigger us, we also respond with our fight-or-flight instincts. You may tense up, feel your heart rate rise, and experience digestion slow down as you prepare for combat, he said.
You can benefit from specific coping mechanisms to handle everyday challenges. Some of the most effective ways to manage anger are outlined here, along with ineffective strategies.
Breathe deeply
As a result of becoming angry, people are physically more alert, triggering their heart rate and blood pressure to rise. It was suggested that people breathe in deep and count to ten to reduce their arousal levels. The more time you have to relax, the less arousal your body has. Whenever Bushman feels angry, he meditates as well as practices yoga. In addition, he takes baths and listens to soothing music to relax.
Don’t vent on others
A vent is a great way to vent your anger and tell others why you feel that way. Despite this, Bushman believes that venting keeps memories front and center in your mind. Whenever we speak to our friends, they just validate our feelings, Bushman said in the podcast. This increases the fire rather than taming it.
Be a problem-solver
In Martin’s view, we get angry when faced with a conflict, such as when something interferes with our goals or when we aren’t treated respectfully. As you are feeling angry, you can channel the energy that surges through the fight-or-flight response to solve the problem. She says she was spat upon several times onstage at the height of her career, which made her angry. As a release, she wrote “Bad Reputation” to express her anger.
Avoid getting physical
To vent anger, Martin said, is to break things or boxes to release them. He explains that it’s a maladaptive expression style that can contribute to difficulty controlling one’s anger in the long run. He said this reinforces that behavior, so that in the future if you become angry, you might act physically again.
A prison asked Bushman if it was okay for prisoners to hit punching bags when they got angry. It was a terrible idea, he says, and you should get rid of it. Running, which pumps your heart, is also not recommended. A high heart rate keeps your arousal high, which is the opposite of what is desired when you are trying to control your anger.
Think positively
Two emotions at once are hard to feel, Bushman said. Turn your anger into a positive emotion so that it can be suppressed. He suggests hugging or cuddling a loved one’s pet to produce feelings of love. Read a funny book or watch a funny movie, Bushman suggests. For empathy, volunteer.
Keep your anger in check
The easy solution sometimes seems to be burying your anger, but according to UCLA doctor David H. Rosmarin, who is a research psychologist at McLean Hospital, suppressing anger will not be the most effective way to cope.
A simple ignore-and-ignore strategy in the long term will lead to increased anger intensity, according to the author. My previous comments were that moving on does not resolve any of the problems that led us to get angry in the first place.
Rosmarin said that some people like to get rid of someone who irritates them. Although it suppresses anger temporarily, we have to realize that people will upset us from time to time, so we need to learn how to deal with this.
