After a hard day or infuriating experience, a big old moan can feel very cathartic. However, while popular wisdom suggests that venting your frustrations to a friend or partner helps to reduce anger and aggression, a new study from Ohio State University and Virginia Commonwealth University has dispelled this as a myth.

According to the catharsis theory of the 1970s, acting aggressively or even viewing aggression can help to reduce angry feelings and aggressive impulses. However, the researchers studied how effective arousal-increasing activities (like venting or running) and arousal-decreasing activities (like meditation or yoga) really were for calming a person down.

After analysing 154 studies involving more than 10,000 participants, they found that arousal-decreasing activities, including deep breathing and mindfulness, were much better at helping people to manage their anger than arousal-increasing habits like hitting a bag, jogging or complaining out loud.

“The findings do not support the ideas that venting anger or going for a run are effective anger management activities,” their report stated. “A more effective approach for managing anger is ‘turning down the heat’ or calming down by engaging in activities that decrease arousal.” 

So next time you get the urge to whine and a grumble to a trusted friend over a glass of wine, remember that it’s far from the best way to shake off rage.

Of all the unpleasant emotions, anger is also the most difficult one to regulate, but that doesn’t mean we should feel guilty for experiencing it. Being able to express anger freely – but, most importantly, in the right ways – is key to making a positive difference to your mental health. 

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