When someone is furious, the advice is almost always the same: let it out. Scream into a pillow, go for a hard run, vent to a friend until the steam is gone. It is such a familiar idea that most people never question it. Researchers did, and after combing through more than 150 studies, they reached a conclusion that turns that advice on its head.
What did the researchers find?
The analysis, published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review in 2024, pooled 154 studies involving 10,189 participants of different ages, genders, cultures and ethnicities. It was led by Sophie Kjærvik of Virginia Commonwealth University and Brad Bushman, a communication professor at Ohio State University, as reported by ScienceAlert.
The verdict on venting was blunt. “Venting anger might sound like a good idea, but there’s not a shred of scientific evidence to support catharsis theory,” Bushman said. In some studies, venting even made anger worse. “Any good feeling we get from venting actually reinforces aggression,” he added, according to Earth.com.
Why doesn’t blowing off steam work?
Because anger is a state of high physiological arousal: a faster heart rate, tense muscles, rising blood pressure. Activities that keep that arousal high tend to keep the anger going too. That is why the researchers found that most arousal-boosting activities did not reduce anger, and sometimes increased it. Jogging, often recommended to “run it off,” was the activity most likely to increase anger in the studies they reviewed.
“I wanted to debunk the whole theory of expressing anger as a way of coping with it,” Kjærvik said.
So what actually calms anger down?
Activities that bring arousal down. The review found that the following helped reduce anger:
- Diaphragmatic breathing: slow, deep breaths from the belly rather than the chest.
- Progressive muscle relaxation: tensing, then releasing, each muscle group in turn.
- Mindfulness: noticing the anger without acting on it.
- Slow-flow yoga: gentle movement paired with breathing.
- Taking a timeout: simply stepping away from the situation.
There was one interesting exception on the physical side: ball sports and play-based activity appeared to lower arousal, possibly because they are fun. The difference seems to lie less in moving or not moving than in whether the activity winds the body up or helps it wind down.
That does not mean bottling everything up. The American Psychological Association calls “letting it rip” a “dangerous myth,” but also warns that unexpressed anger can turn inward. Its advice: calm down first with techniques such as deep breathing, then express what you need clearly and respectfully.
How to use this the next time you are angry
- Resist the urge to rant right away, out loud or by text.
- Breathe first: a few minutes of slow belly breathing is enough to start lowering your heart rate.
- Step out of the room if you can, and come back to the conversation once you are calmer.
- Save the run for later, once the anger has passed, rather than using it to “burn it off.”
The same logic applies to other moments when the body needs to settle, from winding down for sleep to quietly slipping out of a party when you have had enough.
The bottom line
Letting it all out feels good in the moment, but science says it mostly keeps the fire burning. If you want your anger to fade, the most effective tools are also the least dramatic: a slow breath, a short pause and a few minutes away from the source. It may not be as satisfying as slamming a door. It works better.
