London, Jul 5 (IANS): Never count to 10 when you're feeling angry, it could only make it much worse. Focusing on a situation only makes people angrier, tests show.

"The worst thing to do in an anger-inducing situation is what people normally do: try to focus on their hurt and angry feelings to understand them," said Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University.

"If you focus too much on how you're feeling, it usually backfires. It keeps the aggressive thoughts and feelings active in your mind, which makes it more likely that you'll act aggressively," added Bushman, the Daily Mail reports.

Instead, Bushman found after tests where students were stressed out by being interrupted rudely by an intercom, the best thing you can do is imagine you are far away. "If you focus too much on how you're feeling, it usually backfires," Bushman said

"The secret is to not get immersed in your own anger and, instead, have a more detached view," said Dominik Mischkowski, graduate student in psychology at Ohio, who led the study.