Writing as a means of Emotional ‘Catharsis’

Imagine for a minute an individual encountering an extremely frustrating situation at work, a person suffering a personal loss, or someone dealing with financial or health problems. A human being goes through a gamut of emotions at a given time, a lot of which are usually negative, owing to the fast paced lives people usually lead in this day and age. When a person builds up pent up emotions, like anger, frustration, guilt, helplessness and other such negative feelings and emotions, they need an outlet for them. Psychologically speaking, ‘catharsis’ refers to the process of emotional release.

Rather than releasing these emotions through unhealthy or inappropriate means like yelling at someone, getting into a fight, or displaying aggressive behavior, people can look for healthier options to achieve catharsis, like working out, dancing or going for a run. An excellent way of cleansing out pent up negative emotions is through the medium of writing.

Writing in a diary; writing articles or letters; or filling in a daily journal are some options that prove useful in such cases. Writing down and describing the situation as perceived by the individuals themselves, or expressing their feelings about it can work wonders for people feeling burdened by their negative emotions. Writing can help one to creatively express oneself. Another advantage of using writing as a tool for ‘catharsis’ is that, often, reading one’s thoughts and feelings on paper can really help in rationalizing one’s thoughts and finding possible solutions to the problematic situations as well. It also helps immensely in gaining a different perspective about the situation since writing involves deliberation and thought. Writing sometimes literally means transferring your feelings to the paper. It helps an individual feel much lighter emotionally, less stressed out and more positive.

Feeling frustrated, stressed out, angry? Go pick up that pen and paper or get that laptop out and start writing your emotions away. It really works. Don’t believe me? Give it a shot.

-Ruchika Mathur, Bespoken Words Team