Angry Running: It started off as a way to manage anger, but this led me to think about how to manage anger in general. In this article, we start talking about the importance of channelling your energy when angry. As you know anger is often portrayed as a destructive emotion. I would strongly oppose it for the reason that anger is a pure emotion that is sending you a signal.
Just like everything else, what we do with these emotions is our choice/decision isn’t it? The same holds good for fear, jealousy, love and many other emotions. While we talk about the benefits of angry running in this article, it is always in the context of running as a way of channelling this energy and you can define your own coping mechanism for managing anger.
Angry Running – Meaning and Benefits of Anger Management
By definition, anger management is a way to understand, deflect and direct your anger. It is one of those pure emotions about which we don’t have a lot of training growing up. We’ve mostly modelled up our anger management based on people around us. These have been the biggest influencers. But this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re right. (More about anger management here)
Like I said before, Anger is just an emotion – it is about how we use this anger where the biggest difference can be made. We explore the impact of running on anger because that’s another way of deflecting this pure, raw energy as we come across it. Equally, I recognise that it is not the best option for all times, but only one of the options. A physical activity that can be productive gives you better control and direction about what this anger is telling you about. In other words, I’ve decided to call it angry running. I’m sure you can find a better phrase to define this phenomenon.
1. An Immediate Relief for complex emotions
Angry running gives you immediate relief. Let’s dive into that a little further. Once you know that your emotion is more pronounced than frustration or displeasure, anger kicks in as an elevated emotion. In itself, anger is a poor thing trying to convey a message to you. But the form it comes out is often hard to deal with.
Sometimes, these emotional messages come up in a jumbled up manner and we’ll need to untangle them to make sense. This is precisely where a physical action comes into play. A stressed mind gives us less productive results because all these energies are focused on trying to avoid this stress. The greatest weapon against stress is your own mindset and ability to focus and redirect your energy. Angry running is one of the many ways to do this.
- Helps manage your adrenaline and immediate response
- Particuarly if your anger manifests in a physical reaction, it is better to use it for your benefit. Running can provide a small benefit.
- You are looking for a physical activity which can use your extra energy and help you focus.
Remember the purpose of your running – it is not to punish anyone or yourself. That’s a wrong goal. It is only to make sense of what this emotion is telling you. Following that, you can define what you want to do about it.
2) It makes you focus better
Anger can manifest as a bitter emotion that has the tendency to burn yourself and your surroundings. I’ve tried suppressing anger, but it only gets worse. There’s so much energy that the best outcome is in making use of it for positive action. Again, I’d like to reiterate that anger in itself is not a bad thing. It is our helplessness in dealing with anger that makes things difficult.
- One way might be to shout at the top of your lungs
- Some cry it out
- Some just get on with a physical activity
All these things are trying to get the noise out of your system so that you can focus and listen to what your anger is telling you. Angry running is one such mechanism to try and help you redirect your energies and focus.
3) Helps to burn energy
Lets get away from the societal definitions of anger as a bad emotion or your enemy. It is just an emotion and lots of energy. Any energy which is not utilised comes back to haunt you. You must define a few ways to work on it. The answer might be to have a few options and then try with different ones.
It is just like training any other habit. It won’t work straight away. Angry running might need some additional elements such as music or fresh air, etc – whichever makes the most impact for you. These things are simple redirection strategies and similar to training a habit. You should be able to coach yourself to find a way that works best for you.
4) Adrenaline rush
I have always loved the adrenaline rush, the sudden surge of energy – the motivation to do so many things and of course the singular focus. I think anger naturally brings out the blood rush in us. If we can find a way to bring the adrenaline rush along with it and channel it better, it can be an amazing tool for us to make use of.
And I have found that running actually does bring out that factor. And this works really well if we are angry at ourselves for not doing something or falling below our standards. Either way, it is an emotion, it is a call for change and we can respond to it in a way that benefits us!
5) Channels energy
It gives the energy you have a focus, a direction to vent it out on. Misdirection is one of the most horrible influences or the aftermath of anger. Angry running gives you a channel to vent out this energy. It may be the ground that bears the brunt of your anger or your legs. As long as you’re not hurting yourself or others, angry running can be a fantastic tool to help you out.
6) Calorie burner
You don’t burn bridges when you are angry! You burn your calories. I might take a lighter stance here, but you know what I’m saying. It is a silly reason, but I mean to say that focus on something that benefits you. Anger need not be caustic or unhelpful. It need not destroy relationships. Instead, find a productive angle for your anger.
Not a lot is achieved in a chaotic state. Instead, find the time for yourself and anger to calm itself and give you clarity. Anger is nothing but a feedback emotion. It is trying to tell you something. Angry running might help you figure out what it is.
7) Better than stress eating
I find it difficult to differentiate between stress eating and anger eating. In some ways, anger is a form of stress, isn’t it? At lighter stages of anger, I’ve found myself eating bad food which doesn’t help release good energies. It is such a self-defeating prophecy because I still feel bad about abusing my body like that.
I’m sure if it is not eating, there is a list of unhelpful activities we do to manage these stressors. The question we need to ask ourselves is
- how to break this habit.
- What alternatives can I use which can benefit me?
- Don’t distract yourself or your emotions. They are powerful signals – distraction is a bad way of managing emotions. They need action.
Summary – Benefits of Angry Running
Angry running is just one of the many ways you can manage your anger. The crux of this article is in using your anger to do something productive.
- Your anger is an emotion – try to listen to what it is telling you
- Anger has a lot of noise around it. You have to focus only on the message
- It is giving you a lot of energy and mind needs a way to redirect and use it. Find productive ways to use it
- Every habit needs coaching and the same applies to anger. You can’t get different results by doing the same thing over and over again
Please share your thoughts on anger management with the community to keep evolving and finding better ways to direct our emotions.
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Adding an expert opinion – Dr.Sweety Shinde says- “I believe it is the endorphins released at exercise that suppress the negative vibes.”
Looks like there was a little science to the argument after all. Thank you Sweety :)
Thank you Krtika :)
Well .. when I am angry and / or agitated , I usually call someone jovial not related with the reason of my anger and chat with that person. But next time, I will definitely try your idea.
That’s a nice plan Amitabha. I do that too. But at times when I feel that I need to be alone so that I can process my thoughts better, running really works like a charm. Either that or maybe sometimes loud music with audible beats. Something to focus or channel the rage within.
Few hours back my girlfriend shouted on me. I kept myself quiet that time. Now reading your post feeling much relaxed. ;-)
Going to buy one bicycle for me.
Thank you Nick. That really is a compliment for us to hear. It kinda makes me feel that it was really worth writing this post and to know that it has helped is a great feeling indeed :)..
Hope things are good with your and your gf.. He he, that sounds like a good idea, any reason is a great one to get some physical exercise :)
Quite an innovative method! And with dual advantages. Well said – keep it up. P.S- Do you think athletes are better tempered bcos of all the physical activity?
Thank you Sweety :),, He he :D.. Well that’s a very interesting question. But it depends on what they do when they have that temper and how they provide an outlet to it.. If they do the same things like binge eating or maybe shouting at someone else, then I guess they definitely miss out on the advantage of being athletes :)
picking up a physical activity while one is angry is something unique ! I am definitely going to try this ;D Its going to need a lot of patience ;)
:).. Its actually quite a lot of fun Najm. I have personally tried it and found it quite useful. Each time I have been a little down or angry, it is a great source of energy and by the time I come out of a run, I feel a lot calmer cos I get to process these emotions and thoughts better :)
actually its true when we are angry there is something add on in us that if channelized aptly it can be a boon. Infact, when i am extremely angry i can beat my weakness, suddenly the self confidence rises, etc etc…
Well nice post…. it makes us think….
Thank you Lata. Hope you are doing good :).. I agree to every word of this, anger is a beautiful emotion. And it sometimes just needs a channel to get it flowing in the right direction.. And the correlation between anger and self confidence is quite intriguing. I have experienced that happen a bit and it feels really good. In a way sometimes I really find its uses in getting angry.. Not very often though :)
I will keep that in mind. It has many advantages. :)
Indeed Saru, it is worth a shot :)
great suggestion…
Thank you Hemu :)
exercise in any form maintains the body and mind in the positive state.. Very well written ..
Thank you Twinkle :). A great way to get out of stress is exercise. The way a sweat works its way out, we can actually feel the tension climbing out of our lives :)
Nice post Vinay :) Though the issue with me is that I cannot run when I am angry as then I would never get a chance to sit :)
Thanks Alok :).. He he, well I guess we can consider Cycling/gym/swimming :)
Yup, I guess cycling is better for me :)
:). I think there are some really nice clubs which do cycling very regularly. I did try my hand it at. But I realize I am not much of a cycler. I can run, I can also swim and I can cycle too , but somehow I don’t seem to enjoy it that much :)