Venting Doesn't Actually Help You Reduce Anger. Here's What Does | Mihai Andrei, ZME Science
We all have that one friend who loves to vent. Maybe we are that friend. Screaming into a pillow or hitting a punching bag feels visceral — it feels right. But “blowing off steam” is a flawed metaphor. Your body isn’t a pressure cooker, and stress isn’t steam.
A massive meta-analysis recently published in Clinical Psychology Review suggests that venting is actually a terrible way to handle rage. Led by Sophie Kjærvik and Brad Bushman of The Ohio State University, the team analyzed 154 research reports involving over 10,000 participants. Their conclusion is clear: if you want to kill your anger, you need to slow down, not speed up.
Why “Blowing Off Steam” Backfires
The world is getting angrier. From road rage altercations to the digital vitriol in our pockets, anger is our go-to response for feeling threatened.
Physiologically, anger is a high-arousal state. Your muscles tense, adrenaline surges, and your heart rate climbs as blood rushes to your limbs. Your body is preparing for a fight. Sometimes the threat is real; often, it’s imaginary — like your favorite sports team losing.
For decades, the classic advice was to vent that energy. But Kjærvik and Bushman found that activities designed to increase arousal — like hitting a heavy bag, jogging, or cycling — did absolutely nothing to reduce anger. In fact, the average effect size for these activities was a big, fat zero.
Psychologists tend to consider anger as a two-part process. There’s a mix of physiological arousal and a cognitive label. When you’re already angry and then you go for a run or start venting, you’re just maintaining that high state of arousal, which your brain continues to label as “rage”.
In fact, the data showed that jogging actually increased anger in several studies. This might be because the repetitive, monotonous nature of running on a treadmill can lead to boredom or frustration, which acts as a secondary provocation.
So What Works?
The study found that “arousal-decreasing” activities were remarkably effective. Deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation, and yoga worked across the board to lower hostility and aggression.
It sounds like a cliché, but the biology is sound. By slowing your breath, you signal to your brain that the “threat” has passed, effectively short-circuiting your fight-or-flight response.
Remarkably, not all physical activity was ineffective. Ball sports (like soccer or volleyball) and physical education classes actually helped decrease anger, though not as much as meditation or yoga.
Researchers believe this is because these activities involve play, which elicits positive emotions that can override the negative valence of anger. It’s hard to stay furious when you’re genuinely having fun with a team.
This Seems To Work For Everyone
Usually, this type of study comes with several caveats; different things tend to work for different people. But here, the findings were robust across all genders, races, ages, and cultures. Whether you are a student, retired, or someone with an intellectual disability, the “cool down” method works.
This has profound practical implications for how we handle anger in society. Currently, anger management is a thriving industry of workshops, videos, and court-ordered classes. If we shift the focus away from “expressing” anger and toward “reducing” arousal, we could see better outcomes in everything from road rage prevention to prison rehabilitation.
In the end, this research is a call for a more sophisticated understanding of our own biology. Metaphors are fine and all, but we’re not steam engines that need to vent. We’re biological systems that need to regulate.
The next time you feel that familiar heat rising in your chest and your fingers itching for a fight, don’t reach for a punching bag or lace up your running shoes. Instead, sit down. Close your eyes. Take a deep, slow breath.
Read more:
zmescience.com/science/psycho…
We all have that one friend who loves to vent. Maybe we are that friend. Screaming into a pillow or hitting a punching bag feels visceral — it feels right. But “blowing off steam” is a flawed metaphor. Your body isn’t a pressure cooker, and stress isn’t steam.
A massive meta-analysis recently published in Clinical Psychology Review suggests that venting is actually a terrible way to handle rage. Led by Sophie Kjærvik and Brad Bushman of The Ohio State University, the team analyzed 154 research reports involving over 10,000 participants. Their conclusion is clear: if you want to kill your anger, you need to slow down, not speed up.
Why “Blowing Off Steam” Backfires
The world is getting angrier. From road rage altercations to the digital vitriol in our pockets, anger is our go-to response for feeling threatened.
Physiologically, anger is a high-arousal state. Your muscles tense, adrenaline surges, and your heart rate climbs as blood rushes to your limbs. Your body is preparing for a fight. Sometimes the threat is real; often, it’s imaginary — like your favorite sports team losing.
For decades, the classic advice was to vent that energy. But Kjærvik and Bushman found that activities designed to increase arousal — like hitting a heavy bag, jogging, or cycling — did absolutely nothing to reduce anger. In fact, the average effect size for these activities was a big, fat zero.
Psychologists tend to consider anger as a two-part process. There’s a mix of physiological arousal and a cognitive label. When you’re already angry and then you go for a run or start venting, you’re just maintaining that high state of arousal, which your brain continues to label as “rage”.
In fact, the data showed that jogging actually increased anger in several studies. This might be because the repetitive, monotonous nature of running on a treadmill can lead to boredom or frustration, which acts as a secondary provocation.
So What Works?
The study found that “arousal-decreasing” activities were remarkably effective. Deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation, and yoga worked across the board to lower hostility and aggression.
It sounds like a cliché, but the biology is sound. By slowing your breath, you signal to your brain that the “threat” has passed, effectively short-circuiting your fight-or-flight response.
Remarkably, not all physical activity was ineffective. Ball sports (like soccer or volleyball) and physical education classes actually helped decrease anger, though not as much as meditation or yoga.
Researchers believe this is because these activities involve play, which elicits positive emotions that can override the negative valence of anger. It’s hard to stay furious when you’re genuinely having fun with a team.
This Seems To Work For Everyone
Usually, this type of study comes with several caveats; different things tend to work for different people. But here, the findings were robust across all genders, races, ages, and cultures. Whether you are a student, retired, or someone with an intellectual disability, the “cool down” method works.
This has profound practical implications for how we handle anger in society. Currently, anger management is a thriving industry of workshops, videos, and court-ordered classes. If we shift the focus away from “expressing” anger and toward “reducing” arousal, we could see better outcomes in everything from road rage prevention to prison rehabilitation.
In the end, this research is a call for a more sophisticated understanding of our own biology. Metaphors are fine and all, but we’re not steam engines that need to vent. We’re biological systems that need to regulate.
The next time you feel that familiar heat rising in your chest and your fingers itching for a fight, don’t reach for a punching bag or lace up your running shoes. Instead, sit down. Close your eyes. Take a deep, slow breath.
Read more:
zmescience.com/science/psycho…
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