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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