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Writer's picturemarthaengber

To Cuss, or Not to Cuss...



CUSSING — OR NOT — MONDAY


Do you think swearing is therapeutic?


The question occurred to me when I was scrounging around for a Swahili swear word — for a story, of course — and came upon cussionary.com, a dictionary of cussing in a variety of languages.


To me, such resources are awesome because seeing row upon row of foreign words for the same crude concept shows a certain universality akin to music. When we get upset, only a particularly rancid word seems capable of conveying the depth of our disquiet.





And that’s exactly what an article in Psychology Today states.


Cursing is economical. A photo is not the only thing that can convey a thousand words.


And studies show cursing:


— reduces stress


— heightens pain tolerance


— betters physical performance during arduous activities


So now I know why I cursed for a full minute today when my board knocked my knee while I was out surfing.


Having been reared to believe swearing is a mortal sin, I didn’t actually swear even once until I was a junior in high school. Though for the life of me, I’ve never understood why euphemisms like the kind my parents used — Damnation! Gosh darnit! — are more acceptable when the meaning is the same.


Do you swear? Do you feel better for it? When was the first time you did?


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For updates about Martha’s books, news and giveaways, check out her website.


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