Research on Cathartic/Repetitive Actions

Narrating Pain: The Power of Catharsis

“The recounting of experience through the formal medium of plot, friction or spectacle permits us to repeat the past forward so to speak. And this very act of creative repetition allows for a certain kind of pleasure or release.” (p.51)

… the model of post-traumatic stress disorder to argue that narratives, as elaborate versions of dream-work, serve to ‘master the stimulus retrospectively, by developing the anxiety whose omission was the cause of the traumatic neuroses’. In short, the argument goes, when we find ourselves unable to deal with the traumatizing shock of a certain accident involving inadmissible pain… we actually prevent ourselves from experiencing it at the time and so need to retrieve the unexperienced experience after the event via narratives which represent the traumatic event in a vicarious fashion…” (p.56)

My Thoughts

It seems as if cathartic experiences are more related to negative emotions, as recounting the experiences is a way of letting go of it and moving on. This makes me rethink the original question of having people embroider their most positive or negative experience overall… and if I ask people to recount negative experiences that they aren’t ready to think about… it feels sort of insensitive to how they feel and what they have been through.

I’m weary of asking people to recount highly emotional experiences for my own experimental knowledge. It seems sort of unethical without first asking them if they would be willing to do so…? (Gonna chat with Nathan)

I think I need to talk to the tutors about this before I do any experiments with other people.

The way I frame my question is going to be very important, as to allow the participant freedom to recall memories that only they are comfortable with. Maybe asking:

Please recall and record either:

A memory associated with a very positive experience in your life. Maybe a time when you felt a sense of pride, success, love, or joy to the fullest extent.

OR

A memory associated with a very negative experience in your life. Maybe a time when you felt a sense of shame, failure, embarrassment, sadness, or hatred to the fullest extent.

Citation:

Richard Kearney, “Narrating Pain, the Power of Catharsis” A Journal of Modern Critical Theory. Vol. 30, No. 1, TRAUMA, THERAPY AND REPRESENTATION (March 2007), pp. 51-66 (16 pages). Edinburgh University Press. < https://www.jstor.org/stable/43152699?read-now=1&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents > [23 November 2019].