A catharsis is a method of venting emotions that people experience by expressing all the feelings that are repressed inside. The person when entering catharsis purifies his soul, filling himself with freedom and fullness. According to the great Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, they considered catharsis as a purifying process of the human soul, which, through emotions such as fear and compassion, generated a whirlwind of sensations on a spiritual level.
What is catharsis
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When inquiring about the term catharsis etymology of the word, it can be said that it comes from the Greek "khátharsis" which means "purification", and was mentioned in the tragedy of the philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) called "Poetics of Aristotle".
Catharsis is the elimination or expulsion of toxic feelings, thoughts and emotions that are within the person and can be done consciously or unconsciously through rituals, actions, words or automatic reflexes, which results in a kind of mental, soulish and even purification physical.
According to the ancient tragedy (form of dramatic theater), it is related to the redemption of the sinful habits of the person who observes the play, seeing how the characters in it suffer the deserved consequences of said acts, without having to suffer them in own flesh.
For all contexts, it is related to the concept of liberation, which means being exempt from any commitment, responsibility or burden.
According to medicine
In this context, catharsis or "catharsis" is the spontaneous or induced expulsion of substances toxic to the body through feces.
The induction of a catharsis of this type can be carried out by introducing into the body an extract of what ails the person, in such a way that a collapse is generated in the system and results in the expulsion of the damage. Another popular term for this procedure or for synonymous catharsis is purging.
According to psychology
It refers to a process of releasing negative emotions that are repressed in an individual. This can be done through what is known as the free association method, which is a purge of unresolved conflicts found in the subconscious.
This process of emotional liberation arises when the individual, saturated with so much emotional charge, loses his self-control and ends up overflowing all that is repressed. This procedure is also known as cathartic, and was created by the Austrian psychologist Josef Breuer (1842-1925). In principle, this method was part of hypnosis therapy, from which it was later dissociated as psychoanalysis evolved.
Psychologists assure that it is not healthy for human beings to repress their emotions: their anger, pain, anguish; Since this ends up damaging their mental state, generating nervousness, which in some cases is difficult to control. For this reason, these professionals recommend that their patients take a space of their time to perform catharsis, and thus be able to shed everything that distresses them; for example, of all those thoughts that could alter your emotional balance.
According to the RAE
The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines the term from four points of view: the first is the conception that the ancient Greeks had in this regard, and it referred to the purification of a person or some object that was found to be impure; the second, to the effect of liberation on some factor that caused a tragedy; the third, to the processes of purification, liberation, and eventual transformation within the subject subjected to catharsis; and the fourth, focuses on the medical point of view, as the spontaneous expulsion of harmful substances from a living organism.
According to philosophy
According to the philosophical dictionary, the concept develops with what the ancient Greeks understood about it. On the one hand, it was the action of artistic Greek aesthetics on man; on the other, music is a form of catharsis, since it serves to liberate man and purify him, relieving his soul through the pleasure it generates.
The Greeks used the term for various purposes. For example, in the religious, medical, ethical and physiological sense, so there is no unified meaning of it, and presumably each sense is related to each other (catharsis affects the physiology of man, aesthetics his feelings, among others.
History of catharsis
As mentioned above, in ancient Greece, the term was widely used and applied in different areas, especially literary. Literary expression methods have done and continue to do to date, that people bring out sensations and feelings, such as joy, fear, sadness, love, compassion or illusion just by reading a book, watching a short film, listening to a melody or admire a painting.
In the event that the protagonist is affected for better or for worse in the story presented, the viewer replicates these feelings within himself and through it, releases his own unresolved issues as a catharsis.
The term "catharsis" was taken up by the psychologist Breuer and the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), defining the so-called "cathartic method", which is a psychotherapy technique that consists of purging or releasing negative feelings (to the point of being pathogenic), reliving those situations that generated conflicts and traumas that must be resolved in the life of the patient with a psychological catharsis, of which the patient should be able to address the issue without negative psychological or even physiological consequences.
5 exercises for emotional catharsis
There are many ways to release all negative feelings, and among them we have the following methods of emotional catharsis:
1. The conversation, there is nothing more rewarding than being able to talk about problems with someone you trust (be it a friend, brother, parents, a psychology professional, a mentor); as well as being one of the easiest ways to discharge worries.
The burden that is released when talking about problems is such that physical ailments such as headaches, mood swings, insomnia, cancer, ulcers, among others, are avoided.
2. With the practice of a sport, where the person, through physical exercise, can release emotions through the effort that this method of catharsis in sport requires, since epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) is activated and helps to keep the body in a state of alert.
3. Humor is one of the most important catharsis techniques to release tension. It is not for nothing that it is said that laughter is the best medicine, as well as entertainment, because of how easy it is to be distracted and free from frustrations that afflict an individual.
4. The script can be used as a means to drain all that ails or worries a person expressing it on paper and giving vent to all the problems there. This will be like a personalized guide to emotional catharsis.
5. The expressions of art work as techniques of catharsis, both to express some of the frustrations, as a distraction from them, and can be done through the dance, acting or singing and meditation exercises and relaxation, as yoga.
In addition to those mentioned, there is a technique called tapping, which consists of:
- Focusing on a specific point in the body where you feel tension (which can be muscle due to an emotional condition).
- Indicate the intensity of the discomfort with scales from 0 to 10, with 0 being the minimum and 10 being the maximum discomfort.
- Tap the place of discomfort with the thumb and index finger, and repeat a phrase in which the presence of discomfort is accepted, but is letting go of it.
- Take a deep breath and re-mark the point of discomfort.
- After that, steps “c” and “d” should be repeated until the discomfort is gone.
Example of catharsis
There are several cathartic manifestations, even in daily life, among which you can have:
- The sensations that occur in an individual when watching a movie and identify with the protagonist or one of the characters.
- The fear produced by the most difficult level of a video game, where emotions are put to the limit due to the difficulty of the game.
- The manifestation with a loud cry or word after receiving a blow from another person or accidentally.
- An ovation after having heard a symphony or song that stirred feelings in the listener.
