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> Expressed anger/emotion is okay No it's not > bottled up anger/emotion is not good Yes it is It is tautologically obvious why expressing anger does not re

by anjc 2y ago

> Expressed anger/emotion is okay No it's not > bottled up anger/emotion is not good Yes it is It is tautologically obvious why expressing anger does not result in reduced anger in the long term, and why practicing subduing your anger is beneficial. Cathartic expression of anger is a long-debunked approach to coping with it.

criddell 2y ago
> It is tautologically obvious why expressing anger does not result in reduced anger in the long term, and why practicing subduing your anger is beneficial. It isn't obvious at all to me and doesn't match my experience.
- naasking 2y ago
  Maybe you have some kind of healthy expression of anger, but multiple studies have shown that venting anger physically or verbally just exacerbates it, because it causes you to ruminate on the causes of the anger, which just feeds back into it [1]. Focusing on something else, like a logic puzzle, can diffuse it. [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735824000357 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027273582...
  - criddell 2y ago
    I thought we were talking about long term, not short term. I agree, in the short term anger can have negative consequences. But longer term, as you ruminate on the causes of anger, you can be more objective and see that the reaction may have been an overreaction and unproductive. You might even have regret (I've certainly felt regret). If I always subdued my anger, I'd probably end up like the dog in the this is fine meme (and I'm not an angry person!).
- anjc 2y ago
  On reflection, it depends on what was meant by 'express' in the previous post; if an expression is a constructive discussion then that may be good. If an expression is smashing things or shouting, that isn't good. Aggressive expressions don't work long term because they reinforce the behaviour of outwardly and rapidly being angry.

by anjc 2y ago

criddell 2y ago

> It is tautologically obvious why expressing anger does not result in reduced anger in the long term, and why practicing subduing your anger is beneficial. It isn't obvious at all to me and doesn't match my experience.

naasking 2y ago
Maybe you have some kind of healthy expression of anger, but multiple studies have shown that venting anger physically or verbally just exacerbates it, because it causes you to ruminate on the causes of the anger, which just feeds back into it [1]. Focusing on something else, like a logic puzzle, can diffuse it. [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735824000357 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027273582...
- criddell 2y ago
  I thought we were talking about long term, not short term. I agree, in the short term anger can have negative consequences. But longer term, as you ruminate on the causes of anger, you can be more objective and see that the reaction may have been an overreaction and unproductive. You might even have regret (I've certainly felt regret). If I always subdued my anger, I'd probably end up like the dog in the this is fine meme (and I'm not an angry person!).
anjc 2y ago
On reflection, it depends on what was meant by 'express' in the previous post; if an expression is a constructive discussion then that may be good. If an expression is smashing things or shouting, that isn't good. Aggressive expressions don't work long term because they reinforce the behaviour of outwardly and rapidly being angry.