The dangers of venting when you’re upset

A couple of weeks ago, former ABC political journalist Mark Halperin predicted that a Trump victory would result in “the greatest mental health crisis” in U.S. history. The same could be said for a Harris victory.
The truth is that whatever happens next Tuesday, a significant number of people are going to be very, very angry. I heard one pundit suggest that people should book their therapy appointments early. But for those people wondering how they might actually handle their anger and disappointment, some new research out of The Ohio State University suggests some counterintuitive ideas.
Led by Sophie Kjærvik of Virginia Commonwealth University, researchers looked at more than 150 studies with more than 10,000 participants and found that venting about your problems doesn’t help. In fact, it might actually make things worse. Ranting to your family or friends or colleagues or strangers on the street about your anger has the effect of increasing physiological arousal — raising your heart rate, blood pressure and rate of breathing. Contrary to conventional wisdom, getting it all off of your chest doesn’t actually remove anything from your chest. It may make your problems both physically and metaphorically a greater burden on your chest.
“Catharsis theory suggests that venting anger can provide a release of pent-up emotions.” Kjaervik told Newsweek. “However, venting anger may temporarily reduce tension and provide a sense of satisfaction, leading to an increase in arousal,” she added.
The whole idea of “getting out” your anger in order to feel better turns out to be a myth. She notes that “expressing anger (for example, hitting and kicking) also involves physical actions contributing to an increase in arousal in the body.” As for my preferred strategy of whacking a tennis ball when angry, the researchers found that some “play” may help.
This research makes it feel as if the entire basis of our therapeutic culture has been undermined. From “Ordinary People” to “Couples Therapy,” it seems that the message is always that you will feel better and everyone around you will benefit if you just speak up and clear the air. Tell us what you really think. Repression is toxic. In the movie “Inside Out 2,” Riley is literally putting her emotions in bottles rather than letting them run free. And this is what eventually causes her big crisis.
But the truth is that letting it all out has never been for the benefit of everyone around you. Venting has always been obviously a selfish act. This is not to suggest you should never say what you’re thinking. But venting has almost always been about making yourself feel better, and this new research suggests that it is not a real solution, and may not even make people feel better in the short term, let alone the long run.
Brad Bushman, professor of communication at Ohio State concludes: “Venting anger might sound like a good idea, but there’s not a shred of scientific evidence to support catharsis theory.”
Instead, studies repeatedly showed that activities that decreased arousal — relaxation, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation and taking a time out — reduced anger in all populations, including students, non-students and in people with or without a criminal history. As someone with zero patience for meditation or yoga, let alone taking a time out, I can say that none of this sounds very appealing. I would much rather yell at someone when I am mad. Let’s face it: Righteous indignation can be kind of fun.
But in the spirit of finding some peace with our neighbors over these next few weeks, maybe it’s time to try a different approach. Maybe we need to share a little less of our anger. Maybe we can stuff some of those emotions into a bottle, even take a cue from our friends across the pond. You know, keep calm and carry on.
Naomi Schaefer Riley is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Deseret News contributor and the author of “No Way to Treat a Child: How the Foster Care System, Family Courts, and Racial Activists Are Wrecking Young Lives,” among other books.