Catharsis is a term of philosophical origin with the meaning of cleaning or personal purification.
The term comes from the Greek “Katharsis” and is used to designate the state of psychic liberation that human beings experience when they manage to overcome some trauma such as fear, oppression or other psychic disturbance. Through clinical therapies such as hypnosis or regression, it is possible to rescue the memories that caused the trauma, leading the individual to reach different emotions that can lead to healing.
At the religious sense, catharsis is the state of spiritual purgation that the individual aspires to, for example, through confession. The emotions expressed by participants in a religious ritual are also demonstrations of catharsis or soul purification.
Within the scope of medicine, catharsis is a term used to designate the emptying of the bowel.
Catharsis is also the name of a website for crowdfunding, where people can contribute financially to the realization of a certain project, such as a music album, game or book.
Catharsis in psychoanalysis
Catharsis as a process of emotional healing through psychoanalysis was defended by Sigmund Freud, who integrated the studies on hypnosis, already developed by the Austrian Joseph Breuer, in his analysis of the influence of unconscious memories on human behavior.
Catharsis represents a patient's healing, which is achieved through the verbal expression of repressed traumatic experiences.
Catharsis according to Aristotle
For Aristotle, the theater had for the human being the capacity for liberation, because when he saw the passions represented, he was able to free himself from them. This purgation or purification was called catharsis, which was provoked in the audience during and after the performance of a Greek tragedy. Catharsis was the state of purification of the soul experienced by the audience through the various emotions conveyed in the drama.
