Have you ever heard of the placebo effect? Expectation is everything.AlexanderVeganTheist wrote:OK, it was a bit off topic. But you implied that to release anger would not result into a person getting to a deeper emotion, but rather would 'fortify' their anger. There's a difference between generating anger and holding on to it, choosing it, and being truthful to what is currently there. Such general conclusions as "expressing anger just begets more anger" from studies that have experimented in a particular manner with anger, seem unwarranted.
If you scream and beat a pillow, and genuinely expect that to release your anger and solve your anger problem (in that very specific context), then despite the generally harmful tendencies, the expectation will usually win (at least in the short term) and it will "work". The problem is in general practice, where doing this habitually may be more harmful.
It would work much better (and not have the negative side effects of habitual expression of anger) if you meditated, and visualized calm and peace entering you, and quietly overwhelming and dissolving the anger. The same expectation, but much less expression of the anger to hold back its efficacy and create bad habits that will probably just increase anger over time.
One could even direct angry people to drink some disgusting black sludge (mixed up in a blender from edible but unpalatable ingredients), telling them it will literally absorb the anger from their bodies when it enters them, to be expelled through vomit. That will work too. The drawback? They now have to vomit. Not the most practical method for everyday use (even if you add in an antacid to mitigate the harm of vomiting).
Nearly ANYTHING that's tied to a strong enough expectation will work (at least temporarily). But not all placebos are equal. Some of them, like directing the subject to express rage, or to vomit, are much more harmful to the subject or much less practical and effective than others.
That said, I will concede that it IS true that dramatic trials and tribulations are usually more psychologically effective than more pedestrian ones. If something is somewhat dramatic or painful as an experience, the subject is more likely to believe more strongly in its effects, due to the personal cost. This should be carefully considered, though, in a cost-benefit analysis. And certain methods like habitually releasing anger should really just be ruled out entirely due to their counter-productive tendencies in the long run. I'd be more inclined to advise the sludge vomiting than beating a pillow. But meditation is the real winner here: practical for anytime use, non-harmful (and free), and not counterproductive.