Accepting anger has surprising benefits for people

We're often told to focus on the positive, but a recent study suggests that getting angry can actually have some surprising benefits.

According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (USA), compared to normal emotional states, anger has the effect of motivating people to overcome obstacles and achieve goals.

A group of students at Texas A&M University participated in a series of seven experiments. The researchers aroused anger by showing students images that were offensive to their school, such as people wearing Aggie shirts wearing diapers and carrying baby bottles.

Getting angry can actually have some unexpected benefits.

“The results are extremely promising,” said Heather C Lench, lead author of the study and professor of psychological and brain sciences at Texas A&M University.

Research shows that anger helps students solve more puzzles. When participating in a computer game that was programmed to be unwinnable, a group of students became extremely angry, which led to better information processing and faster reaction times.

Several other experiments have also shown that anger can be beneficial.

“For a long time, optimism was viewed as the ‘measure’ of a good life and something to strive for, ” says Dr Lench. “However, there is growing evidence that a balanced life with a mix of emotions seems to lead to greater long-term satisfaction and positivity.”

Anger control

We’re always told to push away negative emotions and focus on the positive. But experts say that constantly being positive and relying on boring happy things—a practice known as “toxic positivity” —can have a negative effect on us.

“Most positive expressions lack subtlety, compassion, and curiosity,” writes therapist Whitney Goodman in her book “Toxic Positivity . ”

According to Goodman, toxic positivity often fails to acknowledge the complexity and multidimensionality of human emotions.

All emotions, including anger, are useful to you.

The truth is that all emotions are useful. “We evolved to experience negative emotions,” says Ethan Kross, a psychologist and director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan.

“Anger often arises after people have experienced an insult and believe they can fix the situation,” he added. “This emotion can be energizing, meaning it motivates us to seek justice or fix a situation we feel is unfair.”

Relieve anger

First, we need to be aware that we are feeling angry.

“It sounds obvious, but it ’s not,” says Daniel L Shapiro, Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital and author of “Negotiating The Nonnegotiable . ”

Ask yourself: How am I feeling right now? What is the problem?

“We get angry when we feel like something is getting in our way, ” says Dr. Shapiro. “Anger can also stem from feelings of shame, humiliation, or unappreciatedness.”

In some cases, he added, anger can erupt when people feel a threat to their identity, such as their beliefs or self-worth being attacked.

“Setting goals” when angry

When anger flares, it is important to keep the overall goal in mind, otherwise anger can quickly spiral out of control and lead to overreactions.

Dr. Lench says some research has shown that in the event of an argument with your spouse, expressing anger and having a confrontational discussion can help both of you understand each other better, as long as your goal is to strengthen the relationship between the two of you.

A tough but constructive discussion helps you influence the other person in a more positive way.

However, if you are only concerned with proving your point and winning the argument, this makes you “harmfully aggressive.”

To have a constructive discussion, Dr. Shapiro advises, put yourself in the other person's shoes to see how they feel and look at the issue from their perspective. This will help you influence the other person in a more positive way.

If your anger is getting the best of you, step outside and take a few breaths to calm down.

At work, anger can even help you increase your productivity.

David Lebel, Associate Professor at the Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, gives the example of an employee who does not receive a high annual performance review or promotion, feeling angry and planning to do better next year.