Kanaya, Y., Kawai, N. Anger is eliminated with the disposal of a paper written because of provocation. Sci Rep 14, 7490 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-57916-z Managing Anger effectively is challenging, especially for those who have experienced maltreatment and lack coping skills. Traditional methods like suppressing anger, self-distancing, or cognitive reappraisal have limitations. Psychologists investigated whether physically acting reduced anger. Researchers recruited 60 participants who wrote brief opinions about social problems and assessed their anger periodically. A research confederate gave each a handwritten insult about their opinions. Participants then wrote about their anger, the cause, and their thoughts. Upon instruction, half the group threw the paper in the trash or shredded it, the other group kept it in a file on their desk. Results? In both groups, after provocation, anger increased but then decreased after writing about it with no significant group differences. Once the participants did something with their writings about anger (i.e. threw it away or kept it in a file on their desk) the trash throwers’ anger returned to baseline levels compared to those keeping the paper. Disposing of the paper may hold symbolic meaning beyond removing it physically. So, for old grudges or the next time you get angry, try writing down what happened, what made you angry, then tear it up, shred it, or compost it! Anger be gone!

Written by Jarret Bain B.S.