Just count to 90

It being a slow news day in the heart of the silly season, both Sky and the BBC have run virtually identical items this morning on anger and how to defeat it.

Turns out research has shown that the hormones that surge through our bodies when we get angry dissipate in just 90 seconds, so all we have to do is wait for that long and everything will be fine. And of course, it being the deeply skilled people at Sky and the ubiquitous and terminally lightweight Victoria Derbyshire, there was no further discussion.

But we all know it ain’t that simple. When I was kid my Mum used to tell me to “count to 10”. Now it seems we just have to count to 90. I don’t know about you, but there are some issues that, after 90 seconds, I am even more angry about than I was before. Like Trump’s arrant lying. Like the wreckers who actively seek a no-deal Brexit. God knows, there are things Maggie Thatcher did more than 30 years ago I am still furious about.

The fact is anger can be a good thing. Anger is a powerful and empowering emotion. It helps get things done, it can protect us in some circumstances. Anger is a complex emotion, and one evolution has preserved because it has a survival value. Think before you act, or post, is always a good idea, and one Trump should have taken up a long time ago. But don’t take my anger away. I need it.