Guest Blog: "Catharsis Anyone" by Dr. Natalie Frank
As a psychologist, I was asked to write a
guest post on anything writing related. I froze. Nothing came to mind that that would encompass
psychology and writing. Then I thought
of my own writing. Why do I write
psychological thrillers all of which seem to include some kind of revenge theme?
And why do the revenge scenes always seem to practically write themselves,
leaving me feeling energized instead of worn out? The answer could be summed up in one
word: Catharsis.
I realized whenever an idea for a revenge
based plot lines took hold of me, I was always in the midst of some kind of
negative uncontrollable situation. When
you feel like a part of life has become a nightmare from which you can’t awaken
what do you do? I’ve found over the
years of working with people in various life circumstances that there are
generally two possibilities. The first
is to give up, falling apart to the point you are unable to function in that
sphere of life. The second is to figure
out some way to cope.
Writers have a unique ability to use
their work as means of coping with whatever comes their way through cathartic
experiences. You’ll frequently hear
authors of memoirs state they experienced a feeling of closure after finishing
the work. That said, while much has been
written regarding the use of journaling to “get your feelings out,” there is
another side, a slightly darker side to catharsis achieved through
writing: Coping with the desire for
revenge through creating a fictional version of a situation.
Standard techniques recommended for
achieving catharsis, such as imagining your pillow as the face of the person
you’re angry with and punching it until you feel better never held much appeal
for me. My personal belief is that
catharsis results from doing something that can be related to the actual
situation. Let’s face it, how many of us
need to get over being repeatedly punched in the face?
The desire for revenge most often results
from having experienced some type of harm which you had no ability to control
and for which there is no recourse. For
this, we don’t want to land a right hook – we want an eye for an eye. While some may say to be the better person
and just let it go, that also rarely makes us feel better. I say get revenge. Just do it on paper letting your imagination
be your guide.
The beauty of writing, especially fiction
writing, is that you can create any scenario you choose and determine the
course of the plot, the experiences of the characters and how the entire thing
will end. Through the freedom of words
we have within our grasp the perfect means to create the exact cure for our
unrequited desire for revenge, which we can match to whatever specifics we need
in order to move past it. This is true
catharsis.
Short Bio: Dr. Natalie Frank received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the
University of Georgia. She is widely published in the field of psychology, is sharpening her first novel, and several literary journals have featured her short stories and
flash fiction. Her blog is Divine Madness.
1 comment:
Love this, Rick! Thanks for having Natalie guest posting--good food for thought. I can vouch for the catharsis value of writing, and killing someone off on the page instead of in real life *does* help--and it's less messy :) Great post!
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