Can You Trash Your Temper? New Study Shows You Can “Throw Away” Negative Thoughts
If you ever have difficulty dealing with anger, there’s a Japanese tradition that you may find interesting. Hakidashisara takes place during an annual festival at the Hiyoshi shrine in Kiyosu. At this time, attendants destroy small discs that symbolize various things that make them angry.
A recent scientific study lends support to why this practice can help people dispel their feelings of anger. For the experiment, individuals wrote opinion essays on societal issues and were subsequently given a handwritten, negative critique of their work — regardless of its actual quality. Participants then wrote down the low evaluation they received and their resulting thoughts.
In Experiment 1, half of the participants (the disposal group) discarded their paper in a trash bin, while in Experiment 2, they used a shredder. The other half (the retention group) kept their paper in a file on their desk.
Following receipt of the negative feedback, all participants experienced a surge in self-reported anger. However, the anger levels in the disposal group returned to their initial baseline, whereas the retention group’s anger levels remained elevated in both studies.
Follow-up studies might explore whether this technique could be effective for other types of negative thoughts, such as sadness, fear, worry and anxiety. Additionally, it would be interesting to further determine how lasting an impact “throwing away” negative thoughts have on mood.
It appears that the act of externalizing these negative thoughts and throwing them away was an effective means of combatting angry feelings — at least in the short term. So, the next time you have thoughts that are ruffling your feathers, whether they’re about your finances, a relationship or the possibility of AI taking your job away, simply try throwing them away.
Sourcea
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-57916-z
https://uk.style.yahoo.com/anger-management-japanese-tradition-hakidashisara-105145556.html
