What is Catharsis?
Catharsis is the explosive release of deeply troubled, deep-rooted, states of suffering within us.
Outbursts of crying, rage or "tantrums" are common examples, but so also is laughter. Liz Curtis Higgs has an excellent compilation of true-life stories on "Humour and Healing" and another chapter on "Humor as a Stress-Reliever".
In itself, catharsis is not necessarily healing, the benefits may be purely temporary, it can even be counter-productive if occurring at the wrong time or place.
However, in the right circumstances, catharsis provides an opportunity to experience and transform deeply-troubled or repetitive life experiences.
Catharsis may manifest primarily in primarily emotional, verbal, spiritual or physical forms, but in essence is an holistic experience involving all 7 aspects of our nature.
When is Catharsis helpful?
Catharsis can be a powerful tool for accessing and clearing deeply-troubled or repeatedly-accumulating life experiences. As the deeply-held energy is released, there is momentary access to the painful wound that underlies our dis-ease. There is an opportunity to become aware of what the wound is about and when, where and how it originated. There is also an opportunity to understand what keeps the wound active - what repeated patterns are maintaining it or preventing it from healing.
What experiences can Catharsis help with?
Some common troubled experiences of the human spirit are:
- Abandonment, Neglect, Rejection
- Aggressiveness, Self-sabotage
- Blaming, Self-blame
- Chaos
- Claustrophobia, Smothered
- Clumsiness, Dysfunctionality, Accident-prone, Error-prone
- Confused, Disorientated, in a Fog
- Deadness, Blank
- Depression, Gloom, Foreboding
- Disability, Illness, Sickness, Suffering
- Emptiness
- Exhaustion, Burnout
- Facing overwhelming demands
- Failure
- Feeling a victim, Feeling abused
- Defeat
- Frustration
- Guilt
- Hatred, Self-hatred
- Helplessness
- Hostility
- Hurt
- Ignorance, Stupidity, Idiocy
- Inferiority
- Insecurity
- Invasion of, Intrusion into, personal space
- Isolation, Separateness
- Jealousy
- Loss, Separation, Mourning, Grief
- Living under threat or in danger
- Loneliness
- Lust, Desire, Unrequited love
- Neediness
- Pain (emotional, mental, physical or psychic)
- Panic
- Possessiveness
- Powerlessness
- Resentment
- Shame
- Spaced out, Split-off
- Terror
- Violent feelings
- Weariness
- Worry, Apprehension
Learn more about catharsis and
experience the liberating joy of cathartic release
working at your own pace in a Self-Healing Healer-Development Workshop
Catharsis experiences and Cathartic healing : resources
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