this podcast below from Science Weekly discusses the idea of anger catharsis: if you're feeling angry, will breaking stuff and going for a run help you vent that anger and bring relief?
science says that this is not the case, those activities actually fuel your anger by keeping you stuck in a state of physical arousal
and when you're running or breaking stuff you're also not acting in any way on the cause of your anger, so it's pointless on all fronts
that first podcast reminded me of this second one below from CrowdScience, which asks why we cry
that same notions of venting and catharsis come up in relation to crying
in this case science's answer is more nuanced: crying can lower our cortisol levels and bring relief, but it comes down to three factors
depression: depressed people tend to cry more often but hardly ever report feeling better after crying
control: you're more likely to feel relief if you cry about controllable situations, not so much about uncontrollable ones
other people: you'll feel better if the people around you respond well to your tears
much to think about
