What is catharsis and how to experience the effect: the meaning of the word and types with examples

What is catharsis in psychology

Psychologists often use catharsis in their work. Catharsis in psychology is the process of cleansing feelings and getting rid of negative memories.

If we talk about catharsis in simple words, then this is a transition from darkness to light, cleansing from filth.

The meaning of the word catharsis is closely related to internal rebirth, elevation above oneself. Also a concept close to him is insight, which means illumination.

The definition of catharsis is found in different areas of science and life (art, literature, cinema, psychoanalysis).

History of the concept

The term catharsis comes from the Greek κάθαρσις, which means cleansing, healing, elevation.

Initially, catharsis was the name given to aesthetic emotions and experiences that arise in a person after watching a tragedy in the theater, and then the scope of use of the term expanded.

Today, catharsis is the process of perceiving works of art, after which a feeling of inner enlightenment and purification arises.

What does catharsis mean to a person?

The effect of catharsis for a person is considered positive, because it really brings benefits. Many people hide their emotions, remain silent about pain, and accumulate unpleasant memories.

This “set” depresses, pulls you back, and prevents you from living a full life. In addition, accumulated negativity often becomes the cause of psychosomatic diseases.

Almost any physical illness can have emotional roots. Stress and worries at the physiological level “hit” the immune system. A person catches a cold faster and becomes more susceptible to infections.

Catharsis brings a number of other beneficial properties to the body:

Allows you to forget old grievances and come closer to forgiving the offender.

It helps to speak out loud your fears, and therefore admit them.

Reduces the level of dissatisfaction and negative emotional background, as a person voices painful issues.

Relieves nervous tension.

Increases the feeling of self-confidence and the correctness of one’s own actions.

Helps you better understand your inner world.

Improves quality of life.

The downside of the condition is that when catharsis is achieved, a person almost always cries. But these are good, cleansing tears. After them, people usually feel relief.

Types of catharsis

But what types of catharsis are there? They depend on the outcome and the release process. Here are the main types of catharsis:

• Firstly, verbal. It is also sometimes called verbal response. What does this type of catharsis mean? In reality, this is simply a way to express everything that has accumulated in a person’s head. It can also be special methods of psychotherapy - letters, projection, etc. Thus, through an ordinary conversation in which all emotions are experienced, emotional relief occurs;
• Secondly, expressive catharsis (expressive response). It involves the active expression of one’s emotions - crying, tears, screams, hysterics, breaking dishes. After which emotional unloading occurs;
• Thirdly, behavioral. In this case, achieving catharsis depends on the person performing certain actions that he previously did not allow himself to do. Getting rid of self-doubt. A classic example is screaming. Many therapists encourage their patients to scream to release negativity and anger;
• Fourthly, metaphorical. Various methods can be used here - letters, drawings.

There are four main types of catharsis in therapy

Who is susceptible to catharsis?

The cathartic effect is closely related to the concepts of spirituality. Many believers perceive their own state after prayer or meditation as catharsis. Catharsis is often experienced by sensitive, open people.

However, if a person is callous and distrustful of emotional and open people, then it will be difficult, almost impossible, for him to experience catharsis. As a rule, touching scenes in films, sad plots in books, or the experiences of other people do not touch them.

This does not mean that people who are poor in emotions cannot develop and improve themselves. They just need to choose other methods.

Have you ever experienced catharsis? Tell us about your experience in the comments, it was probably amazing for the first time.

How to experience catharsis

In order to feel this unique feeling of relief, you can use the already mentioned methods of psychotherapy. But let's look at some in more detail:

1. Sport. If you have problems at work, difficulties and failure in your studies, problems in your personal life. You cannot feel emotional freedom and peace. Then you can go in for sports. Of course, you need to know the capabilities of your body. But often after hard training there is a release;
2. Gestalt methods. As already mentioned, you can imagine a person in front of you or write a letter if this person has caused you serious psychological trauma. Or if there is a so-called “unclosed gestalt”;
3. Books or films. Immersion in a tragic or emotional story allows you to experience the feeling of releasing your own emotions;
4. Contact a specialist. If you experience emotional overstrain, a specialist will help you choose the right way to free yourself from accumulated emotions.

Emotional freedom can be experienced in a variety of ways.

Catharsis options

The state of catharsis is often accompanied by tears and serious emotional shock. For an ordinary person, this is just crying, but psychologists identify several options for catharsis.

Mechanism of catharsis

The mechanism of catharsis is built on the interaction of two main elements. To understand what catharsis is and how it works, it is necessary to consider them in more detail:

1. The first element is the concentration of negative emotions. For example, it could be trauma, stress or emotional tension. This element works in such a way that before the very moment of feeling unexpected joy and relief, a person experiences a kind of insight. That is, he begins to analyze the situation differently. Moreover, he sees other sides of it and begins to understand how it can be solved. In simple words, he realizes that the situation is not hopeless;
2. The second element is the process of release itself. It can also be different. And we will look at the types of this release a little later. But this release allows a person to feel that same lightness. That is, it’s as if “a weight falls off his shoulders.” At the same time, it is important to understand that the second element is quite short-term. After the period of catharsis ends, you will not return to the previously experienced period of emotional overstrain. But the situation will not seem as difficult for you as before.

What does it mean to freeze in catharsis?

The concept of catharsis is a process that consists of several stages or steps.

A negative experience is just the beginning of entering a state. Anger, aggression, pain and other negative qualities deepen and expand during therapy. These are then transformed into positive feelings such as relief and cleansing.

That is, a person’s feelings during catharsis become bright, noble, and pure. This means to freeze in catharsis, that is, to catch this position and linger in it.

How did the term come about?

The first author to describe this phenomenon was Aristotle. He called this “purification through compassion.” In his understanding, a person, when watching a tragic performance, empathized with the main characters, due to which he released the internal pain that he had previously suppressed and kept inside. At the same time, the thinker emphasized that we are talking about instincts and unconscious experiences, and not about meaningful reflections.

The results of Aristotle's research are also used in modern psychotherapy. Specialists use game-based simulations to help patients get rid of accumulated dissatisfaction, aggression, resentment and other worries.

In Ancient Greece, theatrical performances were used not only as entertainment, but also for educational purposes. A popular genre was tragedy, in which the protagonist's journey almost always ended in redemption and death. Such a climax was supposed to create a feeling of logical completion, causing a feeling of purification and relief, that is, catharsis, in the audience empathizing with the character.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Sigmund Freud and his mentor Joseph Breuer began to use catharsis for psychotherapeutic purposes. They put patients into a trance state and found traumatic memories. Further work with these memories allowed patients to free themselves from their experiences.

Catharsis in psychotherapy

The cathartic method is at the origins of such a direction in psychology as psychoanalysis. The point is to live through the traumatic experience, release your emotions and achieve relief.

The technique has found its application in various areas and methods of psychology. The most common uses can be seen in psychodrama and gestalt therapy.

Psychodrama is like theater. Its participants take on the roles of participants in the situation being worked on.

For example, a domestic conflict is being worked through. One participant takes on the role of the father, another - the mother, the third - the child. They behave as closely as possible like real participants in the events. This allows you to look at the situation from the outside, analyze your own mistakes, and change your behavior.

Gestalt therapy in the “here and now” situation allows a person to be transported to the events he needs, to work with metaphors or images of other people.

For example, a person was not with his mother at the time of her death, did not have time to tell her important words or ask for forgiveness. This gnaws at him for many years and months. Together with the psychotherapist, we work with the image of the mother, the person tells her the right words and lets go of the situation.

Notes

1. [slovari.yandex.ru/Catharsis/spelling “Catharsis” in Russian language dictionaries - Yandex. Dictionaries](unavailable link since 06/14/2016 (2066 days))
2. [gramota.ru/slovari/dic/?zar=x&word=%EA%E0%F2%E0%F0%F1%E8%F1 GRAMOTA.RU | Dictionaries | Checking the word "Catharsis"]
3. Reich V. Character analysis: Technique and basic principles for students and practicing analysts. - M., 1999.
4. Rudestam K. Group psychotherapy. - St. Petersburg, 1999.
5. [iph.ras.ru/elib/1393.html Catharsis] / New philosophical encyclopedia.
6. www.ksu.ru/uni/sank/db/filebase/files/733.doc
7. [www.infoliolib.info/philol/tamarchenko/hr25.html Theoretical poetics: concepts and definitions. Reader. Comp. N. D. Tamarchenko]

An example of catharsis from life

Catharsis can be found in a variety of life situations, even the most ordinary ones:

1. A person has been dreaming of going to a concert of his favorite band for a whole year, saving money for a ticket, and booking it in advance. But on the day of the concert, it turns out that he is called to work and going to it is on the verge of breakdown. Through negotiations and efforts, the music lover manages to agree on a day off. In the end, everything ends well, he makes it to the concert. When he hears the first notes of his favorite songs, he feels incredible joy and inner freedom. Maybe even shed a couple of happy tears. This is catharsis.
2. The student was preparing for the exam and set himself the goal of passing it with “excellent marks.” Already in front of the audience, he was overcome by panic. It began to seem to him that he had forgotten everything and knew nothing. However, having drawn the ticket, he was able to answer the question well and get a well-deserved five. The student managed to accomplish an important achievement, although he himself did not fully believe in success.
3. The girl came to her friend and told her about the painful situation, with tears and without mincing words. After this, she felt a wave of inner relief; the problems no longer seemed so insoluble to her.
4. Watching a good comedy with the opportunity to laugh heartily at the absurdity of situations and get emotional release.

Content

• 1 History of the concept
• 2 Catharsis in Aristotle
• 3 Interpretations of modern times
• 4 See also
• 5 Notes
• 6 Literature
• 7 Links

Catharsis

[1][2] (from ancient Greek κάθαρσις - exaltation, purification, healing) - empathy for the highest harmony in tragedy, which has educational significance.
It was for visiting tragedies in Athens during the time of Pericles that they paid money - “theoirikon” (2-3 obols) K: Wikipedia: Articles without sources (type: not specified) [ source not specified 2081 days
].

1. Concept in ancient philosophy; a term to denote the process and result of the facilitating, cleansing and ennobling influence of various factors on a person.
2. A concept in ancient Greek aesthetics that characterizes the aesthetic impact of art on a person. The term "catharsis" has been used with many meanings; in religious
   meaning (purification of the spirit through emotional experiences),
   ethical
   (elevation of the human mind, ennoblement of its feelings),
   physiological
   (relief after strong sensory stress),
   medical.
3. A term used by Aristotle in his doctrine of tragedy. According to Aristotle, tragedy, evoking compassion and fear, makes the viewer empathize, thereby purifying his soul, elevating and educating him.
4. In modern psychology (in particular, in psychoanalysis, psychodrama, body-oriented therapy, symbol drama), catharsis is understood as an individual or group process of releasing mental energy, emotional release, helping to reduce or relieve anxiety, conflict, frustration through their verbalization or bodily expression, leading to a healing effect and a better understanding of oneself.[3][4]

Catharsis in literature

Some writers know exactly what catharsis is. After reading their works, it is difficult to remain indifferent and not experience this feeling:

1. Jonathan Safran Feuer "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." A touching story about a boy whose father was killed in a terrorist attack.
2. Markus Zusak "The Book Thief" The work is about the girl Liesel, whose life occurred during the Second World War. The reader is given the opportunity to look at the events of the past through the prism of the future.
3. Sukhbat Aflatuni “Earthly Paradise”. The book is about a girl who is completely overwhelmed by grief over her departed mother.
4. Suad "Burn Alive" A story told by an illiterate girl, Suad, who grew up in a Caucasian family. A miracle happened in her life. She literally burned alive, but against all odds she survived.
5. Annabelle Pitcher "My sister lives on the mantel." A narration from the perspective of a 10-year-old boy whose family was destroyed by grief from the death of his beloved daughter.
6. Nikolai Karamzin "Poor Liza." There is probably not a person who would not be touched by the story of the beautiful but tragic love of the young peasant woman Lisa and Erast.

What works helped you achieve catharsis? Tell us about them in the comments. Or maybe you can recommend to us and our readers your favorite films, after which insights and relief occurred?

Literature

• Catharsis: metamorphoses of tragic consciousness / Comp. and general ed. V. P. Shestakova. - St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2007.
• Ivanov V.
  Dionysus and pre-Dionysianism. - B., 1923.
• Aristotle
  . Poetics. / Transl. N.I. Novosadsky. - L., 1927. - P. 111-113.
• Losev A. F.
  Essays on ancient symbolism and mythology. - T. 1. - M., 1930. - P. 728-734.
• Akhmanov A. S., Petrovsky F. A.
  Introduction.
  Art. // Aristotle
  . About the art of poetry. - M., 1957.
• Bychkov V.V.
  Aesthetics. - M.: Gardariki, 2005.
• Freud 3.
  On clinical psychoanalysis. - M., 1991.

Self-improvement through catharsis

During the process of catharsis, a person will have to go through serious emotional experiences. But they do not aggravate a person’s situation, do not drive him into the abyss of depression. On the contrary, it promotes reappraisal, rethinking, and healing.

Living your own negative emotions and freeing yourself from them expands the boundaries of consciousness, a person becomes open to new knowledge, experience, and information. It also increases a person’s sensitivity to objects of art. Interaction with them contributes to the comprehensive development of a person.

The video provides an example of how people achieve catharsis during psychotherapy.

History of the concept[ | ]

In philosophical literature, the concept of catharsis has more than one and a half thousand different interpretations. Traditionally interpreted as a category of ancient Greek philosophy and aesthetics, denoting the essence and effect of aesthetic experience associated with the cleansing of the soul [from affects].

The concept of catharsis was first used in ancient Greek culture to characterize certain elements of mysteries and religious holidays. In Greek religious healing, catharsis is the liberation of the body from any harmful matter, the soul from “defilement” and painful affects.

It was inherited by ancient Greek philosophy and was used in it in various meanings (magical, mysterious, religious, physiological, medical, ethical, philosophical, etc.). Ideas about catharsis were transferred from the religious-medical sphere to the field of art theory even before Aristotle. Heraclitus, according to the Stoics, spoke of purification by fire. In its traditional sense, the term dates back to ancient Pythagoreanism, which recommended music to cleanse the soul. The Pythagorean doctrine of catharsis influenced Plato and Aristotle[4]. Plato put forward the doctrine of catharsis as the liberation of the soul from the body ( var.

- cleansing the spirit from the body [5]), from passions or pleasures.

How to achieve catharsis

To achieve catharsis, a person will need to do serious internal work:

1. Recognize that there are unprocessed emotions and experiences in his life that prevent him from living.
2. Understand that the time has come to change something in your life.
3. Feel the inner readiness to overcome fears, anxiety, and other negative emotions.
4. Achieve a state of inner peace.
5. Mentally return to the situation that causes negative thoughts and experiences. Live it again and in as much detail as possible, remember the smallest details.
6. Focus on the emotions that arise.
7. Let these emotions live, let them reach the top in their development.

Catharsis will come when negative emotions stop frightening a person and slowing down his development. He comes to terms with having such an experience and lets it go.

Notes[ | ]

1. • K a
     tharsis // Dictionary of foreign words. — 15th ed., rev. - M.: Russian language, 1988. - P. 220. - 608 p. — 200,000 copies. — ISBN 5-200-00317-2.

   K a
   tharsis, Kat
   a
   rsis // Big Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language / Ch. ed. S. A. Kuznetsov. - St. Petersburg: Norint, 1998

2. Catharsis
   //
   Krysin L.P.
   
   Explanatory
   dictionary of foreign words. — 2nd ed., add. - M.: Russian language, 2000. - P. 312. - 856 p. — (Library of Russian language dictionaries). — 5000 copies. — ISBN 5-200-02699-7.
3. Catharsis
   // Scientific and informational “Spelling academic resource ACADEMOS” of the Institute of
   Russian
   Language . V. V. Vinogradov RAS.
4. Zarva M.V..
   Kat
   a
   rsis // Russian verbal stress. Dictionary. - M.: NC ENAS, 2001. - 600 p. — 6000 copies. — ISBN 5-93196-084-8.
5. Reich V. Character analysis: Technique and basic principles for students and practicing analysts. - M., 1999.
6. Rudestam K. Group psychotherapy. - St. Petersburg, 1999.
7. Dolgov K. M.
   Catharsis // New philosophical encyclopedia / Institute of Philosophy RAS; National social-scientific fund; Pred. scientific-ed. Council V. S. Stepin, deputy chairmen: A. A. Guseinov, G. Yu. Semigin, student. secret A. P. Ogurtsov. — 2nd ed., rev. and additional - M.: Mysl, 2010. - ISBN 978-5-244-01115-9.
8. https://www.ksu.ru/uni/sank/db/filebase/files/733.doc (inaccessible link)
9. Theoretical poetics: concepts and definitions. Reader. Comp. N. D. Tamarchenko
10. Vladimir Karev.
    “Catharsis” // Almanac “Film Scripts”: Moscow, State Committee for Cinematography of the USSR. - 1988. - No. 3. - P. 41-64. — ISSN 0206-8680.

History of the phenomenon

Before we define what catharsis is, let's delve a little deeper into history. Greek doctors understood catharsis as the healing of the soul and body from the symptoms of illness. After this, the concept began to be used in culture to describe religious holidays. Then the concept came to philosophy. Then it began to be used in many sciences: physiology, medicine, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy. It was even used in magical meaning. Most attention was paid to the phenomenon in philosophy. There, catharsis was understood as the liberation of the spirit from bodily burdens. In the second half of the 19th century, the concept moved into psychology and psychotherapy.

Excerpt characterizing Catharsis

- What haven’t you seen! - he shouted at the cook, who, with her sleeves rolled up, in a red skirt, swaying with her bare elbows, came to the corner to listen to what was being said. “What a miracle,” she said, but, hearing the owner’s voice, she returned, tugging at her tucked skirt. Again, but very close this time, something whistled, like a bird flying from top to bottom, a fire flashed in the middle of the street, something fired and covered the street with smoke. - Villain, why are you doing this? – the owner shouted, running up to the cook. At the same moment, women howled pitifully from different sides, a child began to cry in fear, and people with pale faces silently crowded around the cook. From this crowd, the most audible were the moans and sentences of the cook: “Oh, oh, my darlings!” My little darlings are white! Don't let me die! My white darlings!.. Five minutes later there was no one left on the street. The cook, with her thigh broken by a grenade fragment, was carried into the kitchen. Alpatych, his coachman, Ferapontov’s wife and children, and the janitor sat in the basement, listening. The roar of guns, the whistle of shells and the pitiful moan of the cook, which dominated all sounds, did not cease for a moment. The hostess either rocked and coaxed the child, or in a pitiful whisper asked everyone who entered the basement where her owner, who remained on the street, was. The shopkeeper who entered the basement told her that the owner had gone with the people to the cathedral, where they were raising the Smolensk miraculous icon. By dusk the cannonade began to subside. Alpatych came out of the basement and stopped at the door. The previously clear evening sky was completely covered with smoke. And through this smoke the young, high-standing crescent of the month strangely shone. After the previous terrible roar of guns had ceased, there seemed silence over the city, interrupted only by the rustling of footsteps, groans, distant screams and the crackle of fires that seemed to be widespread throughout the city. The cook's moans had now died down. Black clouds of smoke from the fires rose and dispersed from both sides. On the street, not in rows, but like ants from a ruined hummock, in different uniforms and in different directions, soldiers passed and ran. In Alpatych’s eyes, several of them ran into Ferapontov’s yard. Alpatych went to the gate. Some regiment, crowded and in a hurry, blocked the street, walking back. “They are surrendering the city, leave, leave,” the officer who noticed his figure told him and immediately shouted to the soldiers: “I’ll let you run around the courtyards!” - he shouted. Alpatych returned to the hut and, calling the coachman, ordered him to leave. Following Alpatych and the coachman, all of Ferapontov’s household came out. Seeing the smoke and even the fires of the fires, now visible in the beginning twilight, the women, who had been silent until then, suddenly began to cry out, looking at the fires. As if echoing them, the same cries were heard at other ends of the street. Alpatych and his coachman, with shaking hands, straightened the tangled reins and lines of the horses under the canopy. When Alpatych was leaving the gate, he saw about ten soldiers in Ferapontov’s open shop, talking loudly, filling bags and backpacks with wheat flour and sunflowers. At the same time, Ferapontov entered the shop, returning from the street. Seeing the soldiers, he wanted to shout something, but suddenly stopped and, clutching his hair, laughed a sobbing laugh. - Get everything, guys! Don't let the devils get you! - he shouted, grabbing the bags himself and throwing them into the street. Some soldiers, frightened, ran out, some continued to pour in. Seeing Alpatych, Ferapontov turned to him. – I’ve made up my mind! Race! - he shouted. - Alpatych! I've decided! I'll light it myself. I decided... - Ferapontov ran into the yard. Soldiers were constantly walking along the street, blocking it all, so that Alpatych could not pass and had to wait. The owner Ferapontova and her children were also sitting on the cart, waiting to be able to leave. It was already quite night. There were stars in the sky and the young moon, occasionally obscured by smoke, shone. On the descent to the Dnieper, Alpatych's carts and their mistresses, moving slowly in the ranks of soldiers and other crews, had to stop. Not far from the intersection where the carts stopped, in an alley, a house and shops were burning. The fire had already burned out. The flame either died down and was lost in the black smoke, then suddenly flared up brightly, strangely clearly illuminating the faces of the crowded people standing at the crossroads. Black figures of people flashed in front of the fire, and from behind the incessant crackling of the fire, talking and screams were heard. Alpatych, who got off the cart, seeing that the cart would not let him through soon, turned into the alley to look at the fire. The soldiers were constantly snooping back and forth past the fire, and Alpatych saw how two soldiers and with them some man in a frieze overcoat were dragging burning logs from the fire across the street into the neighboring yard; others carried armfuls of hay. Alpatych approached a large crowd of people standing in front of a tall barn that was burning with full fire. The walls were all on fire, the back one had collapsed, the plank roof had collapsed, the beams were on fire. Obviously, the crowd was waiting for the moment when the roof would collapse. Alpatych expected this too. - Alpatych! – suddenly a familiar voice called out to the old man. “Father, your Excellency,” answered Alpatych, instantly recognizing the voice of his young prince. Prince Andrei, in a cloak, riding a black horse, stood behind the crowd and looked at Alpatych. - How are you here? - he asked. “Your... your Excellency,” said Alpatych and began to sob... “Yours, yours... or are we already lost?” Father... - How are you here? – repeated Prince Andrei. The flame flared up brightly at that moment and illuminated for Alpatych the pale and exhausted face of his young master. Alpatych told how he was sent and how he could forcefully leave. - What, your Excellency, or are we lost? – he asked again. Prince Andrei, without answering, took out a notebook and, raising his knee, began to write with a pencil on a torn sheet. He wrote to his sister: “Smolensk is being surrendered,” he wrote, “Bald Mountains will be occupied by the enemy in a week. Leave now for Moscow. Answer me immediately when you leave, sending a messenger to Usvyazh.” Having written and given the piece of paper to Alpatych, he verbally told him how to manage the departure of the prince, princess and son with the teacher and how and where to answer him immediately. Before he had time to finish these orders, the chief of staff on horseback, accompanied by his retinue, galloped up to him. -Are you a colonel? - shouted the chief of staff, with a German accent, in a voice familiar to Prince Andrei. - They light houses in your presence, and you stand? What does this mean? “You will answer,” shouted Berg, who was now the assistant chief of staff of the left flank of the infantry forces of the First Army, “the place is very pleasant and in plain sight, as Berg said.” Prince Andrei looked at him and, without answering, continued, turning to Alpatych: “So tell me that I’m waiting for an answer until the tenth, and if on the tenth I don’t receive news that everyone has left, I myself will have to leave everything and go to Bald Mountains.” “I, Prince, say this only because,” said Berg, recognizing Prince Andrei, “that I must carry out orders, because I always carry out them exactly... Please forgive me,” Berg made some excuses. Something crackled in the fire. The fire died down for a moment; black clouds of smoke poured out from under the roof. Something on fire also crackled terribly, and something huge fell down. - Urruru! – Echoing the collapsed ceiling of the barn, from which the smell of cakes from burnt bread emanated, the crowd roared. The flame flared up and illuminated the animatedly joyful and exhausted faces of the people standing around the fire. A man in a frieze overcoat, raising his hand, shouted: “Important!” I went to fight! Guys, it’s important!.. “It’s the owner himself,” voices were heard. “Well, well,” said Prince Andrei, turning to Alpatych, “tell me everything, as I told you.” - And, without answering a word to Berg, who fell silent next to him, he touched his horse and rode into the alley. The troops continued to retreat from Smolensk. The enemy followed them. On August 10, the regiment, commanded by Prince Andrei, passed along the high road, past the avenue leading to Bald Mountains. The heat and drought lasted for more than three weeks. Every day, curly clouds walked across the sky, occasionally blocking the sun; but in the evening it cleared again, and the sun set in a brownish-red haze. Only heavy dew at night refreshed the earth. The bread that remained on the root burned and spilled out. The swamps are dry. The cattle roared from hunger, not finding food in the sun-burnt meadows. Only at night and in the forests there was still dew and there was coolness. But along the road, along the high road along which the troops marched, even at night, even through the forests, there was no such coolness. The dew was not noticeable on the sandy dust of the road, which had been pushed up more than a quarter of an arshin. As soon as dawn broke, the movement began. The convoys and artillery walked silently along the hub, and the infantry were ankle-deep in soft, stuffy, hot dust that had not cooled down overnight. One part of this sand dust was kneaded by feet and wheels, the other rose and stood like a cloud above the army, sticking into the eyes, hair, ears, nostrils and, most importantly, into the lungs of people and animals moving along this road. The higher the sun rose, the higher the cloud of dust rose, and through this thin, hot dust one could look at the sun, not covered by clouds, with a simple eye. The sun appeared as a large crimson ball. There was no wind, and people were suffocating in this still atmosphere. People walked with scarves tied around their noses and mouths. Arriving at the village, everyone rushed to the wells. They fought for water and drank it until they were dirty.

What is catharsis for?

Catharsis has a positive effect on a person. It helps solve the following problems:

• strengthening mental health;
• analyze the traumatic situation;
• decision-making;
• reduce anxiety;
• develop self-confidence;
• increase stress resistance;
• find harmony with yourself and with the world;
• know your own strengths and weaknesses;
• forgive offenders;
• self-acceptance;
• understanding your own needs;
• stabilize moods;
• improve quality of life.

Examples of catharsis

Every person is familiar with the phenomenon of catharsis. Typical examples of this phenomenon are:

• an exciting episode in the film;
• rehabilitation of a person after injury;
• victory in competitions;
• letter from a dear person.
• visiting a holy place in order to enlighten the mind and find answers to difficult questions;
• watching talented actors play in the theater, when, as a result of emotional involvement in what is happening, tears well up in a person’s eyes;
• the girl told her friend about the difficult breakup with her boyfriend, after which she felt a surge of vital energy;
• the student’s excitement before the exam, for which he carefully prepared, his brilliant answer to all the teacher’s questions.

“Healing the soul” through art

The same Aristotle called catharsis a logical consequence of the descriptions experienced by a person. In fact, watching the tragedy and the performance of the actors in ancient theaters had such an impact on the viewer that he experienced compassion bordering on relief.

Involvement in some sacred action caused a corresponding reaction from the audience. This was expressed in cathartic experiences through visualization and verbalization of tragedy (as the main components of catharsis).

Modern halls of theaters, exhibition complexes, art galleries and other institutions involved in the demonstration of art are also full of “oohs” and “aahs”.

Image by DonnaSenzaFiato from Pixabay

You experience with the characters, find your reflection in them and rejoice in your involvement in the game that develops on stage (and in the case of paintings, you find peace in your emotions). Pythagoras, Aristotle, Heraclitus, Plato and other learned men of antiquity spoke about this in their time.

Catharsis: goal or bonus?

In psychotherapy, catharsis is regarded as an emotional shock that you experience at the moment of secondary experience of personal affects (pathogenic or stressful) that caused mental trauma. But at the same time, you are ready for an adequate reaction to these experiences. They no longer cause anxiety, stress, indignation, or confusion.

“Recovery of the soul” during catharsis is similar to a suitcase of insoluble troubles that you simply decide to throw away in order to move on lightly. Having realized this moment, relief comes, which is the final goal in psychological practices.

The Latin synonym for the term “catharsis” is abreaction. In fact, this is a repeated immersion in a dominant psycho-emotional event in order to release emotions. And having gained the upper hand over the latter, you get the opportunity to look at the world around more easily, throw off the burden of problems that spoiled your mood or created complexes.

Catharsis: the meaning of the term

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“Catharsis” is a Greek term that literally means “purification” or “recovery,” but it refers to the spirit, not the physical body of a person. This phenomenon implies reconciliation with “inner demons” and the resolution of conflicts that rage inside a person, entail the building of long internal mono- or dialogues, push him to rash actions, make him angry and irritated.

Catharsis is the release of emotions through empathy, self-expression when perceiving something that matches the deep emotional background.

For example, this feeling occurs when watching a certain genre of cinema. This has been said more than once about the passive aggression hidden in the souls of most people (hence the demand in cinema for scenes of physical violence, extreme sports, and speed).

Ethical and moral social norms, as well as legislation, do not allow us to act similarly to the heroes of such films. But dinner while watching “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” or another horror film in this case will help relieve internal tension, pacifying the aggressiveness lurking in the soul.