Anger only begets anger.  Try meditating for a few minutes, listen to music, play with your dog or loved ones, or get active and clear mind, body and soul.

Don’t Hit Send: Angry Emails Just Make You Angrier

Venting is bad for us, research shows; It makes us angrier, and it is easier than ever to vent online and on social media

One evening, after a frustrating chat with his boss, Jason Bauman sent an email to a co-worker. He wrote that his supervisor never praised him, only criticized, and said he found this frustrating.

He went on for several hundred words. Mr. Bauman, the manager of a cellphone store at the time, complained that his boss was bad at his job. He said the man was jealous because he made less money than his employees. He insisted his boss had no right to give him what he called “a hard time.”

“It felt really good writing the email and hitting send,” says Mr. Bauman, a 30-year-old who lives in Souderton, Pa.

Not for long. Mr. Bauman says he regretted his angry email shortly after he sent it. “It kept me focusing on the issue much longer than I should have, mulling it over and over all evening,” he says. He felt worse the next day, when he learned his co-worker had forwarded the email to his boss.

The research has been clear for decades: Venting is bad for us. And yet we do it—more now than ever thanks to the ease of the Internet.

In studies, people report that they feel better after venting. But researchers find they actually become angrier and more aggressive. People who vent anonymously may become the angriest and most aggressive.

To quiet your mind, Dr. Bushman suggests distractions such as reading a nonviolent book, working on a crossword puzzle, taking a walk.

Do something that is incompatible with anger or aggression: Kiss your sweetheart, help someone in need, pet a puppy.

Try to distance yourself from the incident that upset you. Observe the situation as if you are an outsider.

Eat something healthy. “People who are hungry are cranky,” Dr. Bushman says.

Read the full article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-hit-send-angry-emails-just-make-you-angrier-1439227360