Cathartic

cathartic, adjective
1. emotionally purging
2. emotionally purging (of e.g. art)
3. strongly laxative

Cathartic

Dras"tic\, Acting rapidly and violently; efficacious; powerful; -- opposed to bland; as, drastic purgatives. --

1. Having a tendency to loosen or relax. --Milton.

Ca·thar·sis –noun, 1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.
2. Medicine/Medical. purgation.
3. Psychiatry. a. psychotherapy that encourages or permits the discharge of pent-up, socially unacceptable affects.
b. discharge of pent-up emotions so as to result in the alleviation of symptoms or the permanent relief of the condition.

A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.
A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.
Psychology
A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.
The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

noun
1. (psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions

An experience of emotional release and purification, often inspired by or through art. In psychoanalysis, catharsis is the release of tension and anxiety that results from bringing repressed feelings and memories into consciousness.

Purgation.
A psychological technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.
The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

ab·re·ac·tion Audio Help /ˌæbriˈækʃən/ –noun Psychoanalysis. release of emotional tension achieved through recalling a repressed traumatic experience.

tr.v. ab·re·act·ed, ab·re·act·ing, ab·re·acts
To release (repressed emotions) by acting out, as in words, behavior, or the imagination, the situation causing the conflict.

ab're·ac'tion n.

noun
(psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions [syn: catharsis]

Function: noun
: the expression and emotional discharge of unconscious material (as a repressed idea or emotion) by verbalization especially in the presence of a therapist —compare CATHARSIS 2 —ab·re·act /-'akt/ verb