Catharsis - what is this from the point of view of psychology?

In translation from Greek, catharsis means "cleansing." Initially, this concept denoted some emotional shock, which was subjectively experienced as an internal cleansing. Such a state arose among the spectators of the ancient tragedy, experiencing the fate and death of the protagonist. Catharsis - what is it today?

Catharsis as self-perfection

This concept denotes an acute negative experience, reaching the extreme point, where it sharply changes the pole and turns into a positive one. Catharsis is associated with an explosion, a storm, a flurry of emotions that fall upon a person. He seems to be cleansed from the yoke of negative experiences. Catharsis, whose importance was considered primarily in art, can give a person some impetus for further development. Experiencing not the real events, but their symbolic image in the works of art, the individual carries himself to these events and passes through himself the corresponding emotions.

Catharsis in Psychology

Usually we do not give vent to our negative experiences - they are superseded and continue to oppress us in the sphere of the unconscious, causing many painful, psychosomatic symptoms. From the point of view of psychoanalysis, liberation from the disease depends on the passage through these emotions. Psychotherapy consists in resurrecting negative memories, in which the client is immersed in the process of work and allows himself to survive. So, catharsis - what is it, how not to rise to paradise through wandering in the underworld? A person develops a negative feeling until he releases all the psychic energy that is contained in him. This work is associated with a very strong stress, because a person is not always ready to survive long-suppressed emotions.

Catharsis - what is it in the theory of Freud

Sigmund Freud investigated the case of hysteria and sought to eliminate the symptoms of this nervous disease. In the process of work, he came to the conclusion that the symptoms could have formed as a result of the displacement of strong negative experiences into the unconscious. Instead of working through emotions, psychic energy was aimed at creating painful symptoms as a defense against the realization of deep, forgotten experiences. The patient was put into hypnosis and "pulled" a depressing memory into the sphere of consciousness. The emotional charge associated with the memory was worked out, an affective discharge occurred. A negative experience was released to freedom, so the neurotic symptoms soon disappeared, because they no longer needed.

Thus, immersion in a traumatic situation allows you to release the emotions associated with it and survive catharsis. What kind of state can be understood by remembering your feelings after a stressful touching movie that caused a lot of different emotions. Subjectively, this can be experienced as a feeling of devastation, mild sadness and, at the same time, bliss. It should be remembered that in order for the state to improve, it is sometimes necessary to overcome great difficulties and strong tension.