In daily activities, there are so many things that happen, either happening within our control or beyond our control. These things will definitely provide a separate emotional response for us. For example, a pleasant event will make us feel happy, excited, cheerful and so on. Likewise, unpleasant events will make us feel emotions such as disappointment, anger, or sadness. Of course, these emotions need to be accepted and released so that we can receive other emotions in the future. If these emotions are not released then our function as social beings will certainly be disrupted because actually everyone has their own capacity to accommodate emotions. Therefore we need an appropriate skill to be able to let go of past emotions so that human function as social beings within us can do its job.

In psychology there is a name for this activity, namely catharsis. According to Kupeli (2019) Catharsis is the release of emotions or complaints that are stored in the mind. In psychology, catharsis is also interpreted as a way to vent emotions positively so that a person feels more relieved and can carry out daily activities with a better feeling. The theory of catharsis is taken from the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud. According to Freud in Wahyuningsih (2019), humans are driven by two instincts, eros and thanatos. Eros is a constructive instinct and Thanatos is a destructive instinct. Basically, humans are aggressive – love to destroy, kill and destroy. The aggressive impulse is certainly not entirely justified by the community. When faced with obstacles, aggressive impulses build up and create tension. According to Freud, an aggressive force that is blocked at any time can explode. One should try to reduce it, contain it or even eliminate it altogether. Through sublimation and fantasy people channel an attitude of aggression, like the exhaust emitting a pile of engine fumes. Art, religion and ideology is this exhaust. So are fantasies, dreams and jokes. Channeling aggressive impulses constructively is called catharsis. The cathartic theory suggests that giving an individual with an angry tendency to behave violently (cathartic activity) an opportunity, but in a way that is not detrimental will reduce the level of emotional arousal and the tendency to carry out aggressive attacks against others. There are several things that can be done to do catharsis, such as talking to someone you trust, painting, drawing, screaming or writing. These cathartic methods are intended so that a person can release emotions so that he will automatically keep himself healthy emotionally.

In a study conducted by Qonitatin et al in 2012 on the effect of catharsis in expressive writing as an intervention for mild depression in students, it was found that catharsis in expressive writing had a very significant effect on mild depression in students. Therefore, it can be concluded that doing catharsis is an important thing because by doing catharsis, all the emotions that we harbor can be channeled properly and by doing this catharsis too, we can become someone who is emotionally healthy so that we can carry out our functions as humans. full and full of potential.

References:

Fancourt, et al. (2019). Psychosocial Singing Interventions for the Mental Health and Well-being of Family Carers of Patients with Cancer: Results from a Longitudinal Controlled Study. BMJ Open, 9(8), e026995.

Kupeli, et al. (2019). Expressive Writing as a Therapeutic Intervention for People with Advanced Disease: a Systematic Review. BMC Palliative Care, 18, pp. 65.

Qonitatin, N., S. Widyawati, and G. Y. Asih (2012), “Pengaruh Katarsis Dalam Menulis Ekspresif Sebagai Intervensi Depresi Ringan Pada Mahasiswa,” Jurnal Psikologi, vol. 9, no. 1. Retrieved Mei 14, 2022 from https://doi.org/10.14710/jpu.9.1.

Wahyuningsih, S. (2017). Teori Katarsis Dan Perubahan Sosial. Jurnal Komunikasi, Vol. XI No. 01, Maret 2017, 39-52.