Is emotional hyperventilation good for mental health?

Fame, achievements, materialistic gains. Who doesn’t want these things, right? But striving for these things means one lugs the burden of challenges, causing stress, anger, frustration, anxiety, depression and trauma. These issues, if unattended, lead to an emotional turmoil. According to Sigmund Freud, these emotional mayhems are either suppressed or repressed in our unconscious mind. The emotional release of unresolved conflicts is known as catharsis. Catharsis can lead to new insights and may even drive positive change. There are many ways cathartic venting can be discussed…

1.Music is an emotional cathartic experience. When sad and listening to a sad song, one may feel less sad or at least more understood, making a route for positive emotions.

2.Dancing and learning new musical instrument is a very powerful source of cathartic release and enhances creativity.

3.Writing is highly therapeutic. Neuropsychologists and mental health programmes encourage journaling — whether in the form of writing one’s own experiences or creative writing or poetry — to express emotions through words and images.

4.Sometimes, one may find after reading a book or article that the author expresses a familiar feeling so clearly that it brings up feelings you thought had long been buried. The catharsis can be the same whilst watching a well-acted movie.

5.Engaging in physical activities improves gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and respiratory systems by releasing stifled emotions.

6.Psychodrama, where participants act out troubling events from their past by experiencing and letting them out, is considered helpful.

7.Volunteering for help to others in need can boost positive feelings.

8.Primal therapy allows expressing hidden feelings by directing their anger toward an imaginary parent or family sitting in an empty chair.