How to relieve mental distress(The European Journal of Social Psychology, 2017)

Mental Strengthening

Conclusion

It has been found that swearwords can have the effect of relievingmental distress.Mental distress is the pain we feel in society, for example,loneliness, alienation, inferiority, and shame.

In addition, swearwords relieve not only mental pain but also physical pain.This is because both types of pain are handled by the same part of thebrain.

Tips for practicing this technique

In order to use swearwords effectively, you must be aware of thefollowing two points.

  • Use abusive language out loud
  • Don't use abusive language unnecessarily

The study divided the subjects into two groups, one that used abusivelanguage aloud and one that did not.It turns out that the group thatused swear words aloud had less mental distress.

Also, according to Dr. Phillip, who published the study, using abusivelanguage on a regular basis weakens the effect.Therefore, it is betterto use this method only when you really want to relieve the pain.

It's very easy to get the benefits if you use it properly, so give it a try.

Introduction of the research

Publication mediumThe European Journal of Social Psychology
Year the study was published2017
Quote sourcePhillip et al., 2017

Research Method

Previous studies have suggested that both physical and mental pain arebiologically felt in the same part of the brain.In other words, whenwe feel mental distress due to social stress, we also become sensitiveto physical distress.On the other hand, when you suffer physical pain,you also feel mental pain.This study was conducted to test whetherusing swear words might alleviate both of these pains.

As a concrete experimental method, the researchers divided thesubjects into two groups: those who suffered from mental distress.Andonly one group was allowed to use abusive language aloud.

Research Result

The group that used abusive language aloud was less mentallydistressed.They were also less sensitive to physical pain.So theresults suggest two things.

  • Mental and physical pain are related.
  • Using abusive language can relieve both mental and physical pain.

My view on this research

It's very interesting that the same brain region responds to bothmental and physical pain.Perhaps using swear words activates adifferent part of the brain that feels pain.If so, meditation andmindfulness training may help you develop a tolerance to pain.Itdoesn't fundamentally solve the cause of the pain, but it's definitelyan effective method for those who are in pain.