Science Japanese study: anger suppression by writing down thoughts

According to a recent study by Japanese researchers, there is a technique for neutralizing emotions by writing down your thoughts on paper and then discarding or shredding them. The study, published in the British journal Scientific Reports, objectively demonstrated this anger-calming method. Approximately 100 students who were asked to rate five different anger states—angry, bothered, annoyed, hostile, and irritated—on a scale from 1 to 6 participated in the study. This formed the baseline "anger score" for their emotional states.

Participants in the study were instructed to document their emotions in writing. Subsequently, they were divided into two groups: one was directed to dispose of their papers by crumpling and discarding them, while the other was to preserve their documents in a transparent folder. Upon reevaluation, those who threw away their papers showed anger levels that had nearly normalized, contrasting with those who retained their papers.

In another experiment, individuals were asked to shred their written emotions or store them in a transparent container. Those who shredded their papers saw their anger levels approach the initial baseline more closely than those who kept them. This practice of discarding negative emotions is mirrored in the "Hakidashi-zara" (吐き出し皿) ritual at Hiyoshi-jinja shrine in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture , associated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598). Participants write unwanted emotions on a plate and then break it, symbolically releasing those emotions.

Hiyoshijinja has hosted an annual festival in November called "Hakidashi-matsuri," which is based on folklore that an entertainer visited the shrine to offer a sacred dance and purify worldly grudges and sufferings. The festival provides an opportunity for people to discard their emotional ruts and attachments, such as sorrow and resentment, and to face others with a heart of forgiveness and healing, according to the shrine's website. One of the main events during the festival is called "Hakidashi-zara," in which people purchase a plate and "seal" their thoughts and feelings that they want to discard in it. Then they break the plate. The research group wondered if a similar method using paper would work. The researchers conducted two experiments to see if writing down angry thoughts on a piece of paper and throwing it away would help people to suppress their rage.

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I might be jailed if I put them in writing , LOL.

So if I write angry thoughts on a forum and delete it this may be helpful? I sure see plenty of people writing angry things online, they just miss the delete phase

I think some of them shop Walmart.