After hearing an insult or an inappropriate remark, you should write your reaction on a piece of paper, then shred it or throw it away, to be less angry.
- In this study, all participants reported higher levels of anger after receiving insulting comments.
- However, throwing away a piece of paper containing one’s written thoughts about an upsetting event neutralizes anger.
- Keeping the paper only slightly reduces this feeling.
Controlling your anger is not always easy. However, this would reduce the negative consequences on our work and our personal lives. Unfortunately, many anger management techniques proposed by specialists have not been scientifically proven. Additionally, it can also be difficult to remember when you’re upset. In a recent study, researchers from Nagoya University (Japan) wanted to find a method that helps us calm down.
Anger: throw away, keep or put in a box a piece of paper containing your thoughts
For the purposes of the work, the scientists asked several students to write brief opinions on important social issues, such as banning smoking in public. After analyzing the texts, the evaluators gave a low score in terms of intelligence, interest, friendliness, logic and rationality. To drive the point home, they also wrote this comment: “I can’t believe an educated person would think like that. I hope that person learns something at university.”
After distributing these negative comments, the team asked the adults to write down their thoughts on the comments, focusing on their emotions. Then, half of the volunteers had to either throw the paper they had written into a trash can or keep it in a folder on their desk. The other participants were asked to destroy the document in a shredder or put it in a plastic box. Finally, students were then asked to rate their anger after reading the negative comment and after throwing away or keeping the paper.
Shredding the piece of paper helped reduce anger
“All people showed a subjective increase in anger after reading insulting comments,” can we read in the research published in the journal Scientific Reports. However, the anger level of volunteers who threw their paper in the trash or shredded it returned to its initial state after getting rid of the paper. Meanwhile, people who kept the paper saw only a slight decrease in their overall anger.
“We expected our method to remove anger to some extent. However, we were surprised that anger was almost completely eliminated. (…) This technique could be applied in the moment by writing down the cause of the anger like taking a memo and then throwing it away when you feel angry in a professional situation,” has explained Nobuyuki Kawaico-author of the study.
