Pranav Sreejayan Week 10: Catharsis
Pranav Sreejayan
Ms. Benedetti
APENG 11
Catharsis
Last year, English 10 honors…. was a class. That’s around ninety percent of what I remember—the rest mostly involves my various arguments with Mr. Howard over the most random things in class where I would brutally be roasted (all in good fun). One lesson that stuck with me, however, was our lesson on Greek tragedies and, more importantly, the concept of catharsis. Catharsis is, in case you didn’t know or weren’t paying attention (a fairly common affliction at the time we learned about it), the release of repressed emotions and the relief that is gained subsequently.
This got me thinking (a very rare phenomenon) how much power do our emotions actually hold over us? We all know what our emotions do to others. Get angry often? Don’t expect to have too many friends. Are you sad often? Like most certainly attracts like, and that's gonna reflect in your friend group. What I hadn’t thought of, however, is the effect that my emotions would have on me and my body. I’d always figured that if you were angry it was just that you were mad and lashed out emotionally. It didn’t really affect you physically beyond an increased heart rate and maybe a flushed face. However, the effects are much more insidious than we’d like to think. Being angry literally increases your chances of having a heart attack, a stroke, and can even weaken your immune system. There are studies showing that being angry can actually lead to you dying younger, which is a horrible thought indeed.
The revelation of these facts to me was a terrifying one. While getting angry is certainly not something I make a habit of (I’m much more given to just being a petty person), the idea that my feelings could literally have the power to change how long I lived was not something I was particularly happy about. What do you mean I have to be happy and content if I want to live a good life??? Jokes aside, these facts also reflect how the things that have power over us might not always be what we expect. Paying more attention to our feelings and controlling them might help us in the short run but repressing them is almost certainly not a better alternative. As Mr. Baker tells us once a class “Too much of a good thing is almost assuredly worse than the alternative”.
Works cited:
Anger effects:
https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/ways-anger-ruining-your-health/
Rock meme:
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-rocks-eyebrow-raise
Hey Pranav! I was really shocked to learn that this was actually a fact! I have somewhat observed this at home and with myself. I think our emotions have severe effects and control over our motivation, both mentally and physically. When in a bad mood, I often find myself in a very lethargic state and over time I begin to gain weight and get severe headaches. It's definitely important to take care of ourselves first, especially emotionally, if we want to lead successful healthy lives.
ReplyDeleteI’ve definitely felt the effects of an unbalanced and extreme emotional state. I had many years of my life where I was quite angry and quite sad and, as many sad teenagers are, very sleep deprived. As I’ve been working more and more on my mental health and my balance, I’ve seen my abilities to function through the day nearly double. It is quite interesting how much we think will affect people around us without ever stopping to think about how much will affect us. I’m definitely guilty of letting myself be the first thing to slip through the cracks. I hope to learn even more balance and be able to put myself, if not first, at least in the top few.
ReplyDeletePranav, what an eye opening blog to read. I had Howard last year and to be honest I do not entirely remember this lesson, so thank you for the refresher course. I have heard the word Catharsis in the past but never actually understood what it meant until now. Our emotions hold a lot of power over us, mentally and physically. As high school students, many of us understand the emotional and mental toll our rollercoaster of emotions has on us. Reading that being angry, happy, and sad actually has physical repercussions makes me want to prioritize my mental health much more and control my emotions. Thank you for bringing awareness about this.
ReplyDeleteHi Pranav, I was aware that feeling an overwhelming amount of anger is not healthy in the short run, but I didn't know it could extend to the long-term as well. One thing though, was that you mentioned a study that showed that anger led to dying younger. I'm wondering how they were able to quantitatively measure that. Did they follow certain people and record their anger tendencies and correlate them to their health? And if so, how did they know that it wasn't attributed to something other than anger?
ReplyDeleteHey Pranav, the importance of our emotions plays a major part in our life when you think about it. If we are sad, we thus loses all motivation to work on anything. If we are happy, we find enthusiasm for tasks that would normally be mundane. Personally, I have figured out that if I feel exhausted and tired, the rate of efficiency at which I complete my homework is significantly lower than if I took time to destress and relax. Thank you for this eye-opening perspective on the effect our mental emotions have on our physical abilities.
ReplyDeleteHey Pranav, it is really fascinating knowing that emotions have such significant impacts on our lives. It really shows how important it is to always take care of our mental health. This can be tied to how therapists are a great resource to help with managing and sorting out your emotions. Even if you feel you don’t need to go see a therapist, it is still good to do so once in a while to sort out your thoughts and just share your feelings in general; it can help with releasing possible suppressed feelings and managing the emotions that can be detrimental to your life like you mentioned. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Pranav, I am glad you discussed how always having a negative mind set can harm one's health. In my family, we often remind each other to not be too stressed or angry because it can lead to negative effects and as you said, shorten one’s life span. It is for this reason that my parents do not force me to take extremely difficult classes and allow me to choose which path I think is fit for me. In addition to this, whenever I do get stressed, I try to take a step back and do things that make me happy.
ReplyDeleteHi Pranav! I also had Howard last year, and catharsis was one of the topics we learned that I can remember being the most interested in. It is really interesting to think of the impact our emotions can have on ourselves and our well-being. Although we talk a lot about the importance of taking care of our mental health, I never put too much thought into specifically observing my emotions. It is definitely healthier for us to be able to experience catharsis and let out our feelings every once in a while when we need to. It was really interesting to read that being angry can actually lead to dying younger. That is a fact I will think of when keeping my emotions in check.
ReplyDeleteHi Pranav! I am surprised to find out that there is a term for the relief that people feel after they let go of emotions that they have been holding in. This topic reminds me of the saying “getting it off your chest” as it basically means the same thing. I have always assumed that a positive mindset was better for my health as I observed the effects it had on my life, but I had no idea that this was scientifically proven. I learned that anger is unhealthy and we should not suppress our emotions from your blog. I will definitely try to put these practices into use in my everyday life! Thanks for sharing!
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