chasing catharsis
Why catharsis doesn't equate to trauma healing.
Cathartic experiences have become the new dopamine hit, and they’re being dished out like a drug in the personal development industry. Many preach about cathartic experiences as a form of healing trauma, but here’s the truth…
Experiencing a cathartic release is not a remedy for trauma, and providing a cathartic release doesn’t help your clients heal trauma.
Trauma is not the experience itself—it’s not what happens to you. It occurs when something is too much, too fast, or too overwhelming for the primal, self-protective self to assimilate. Trauma is what lingers within the psyche and body beyond the experience.
"Catharsis" refers to the intense release of emotional tension. People can temporarily relieve their symptoms by consciously expressing repressed emotions. And yet, these experiences can often be too much, too fast, or too overwhelming to assimilate.
Practices such as breathwork, primal screaming, plant medicine, and rage sessions can provide an opportunity to access and express repressed emotions. However, it is important to note that catharsis may not be effective in the long term. For some people, it may cause more emotional outbursts because they begin to chase the immediate feeling that cathartic experiences provide, and for others, these experiences can cause profound re-traumatization.
It’s also easy to become addicted to the feeling of catharsis, which is why many are chasing cathartic experiences for the feeling they offer rather than the healing, which makes sense. These experiences can lead to the release of multiple neurotransmitters that ultimately leave you feeling good, from the adrenaline rush of a challenging experience (such as cold plunging or certain forms of breathwork) to the dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins released immediately following the experience.
I’ll be the first to say that I love a good primal scream session or an evening smashing glass bottles in a rage room, but I appreciate these practices as a form of catharsis and not trauma healing. These practices help alleviate the immediate tension, supporting the release of emotions which ultimately feels really good, but it doesn’t heal trauma.
Trauma healing requires more than just the intense expression of repressed emotions—it requires the processing of emotions.
True trauma healing requires the completion of a trauma response cycle. Instead of attempting to override trauma, you have to work with the traumatic memory that is imprinted within the body.
This is done by slowing down and being present with every feeling, thought, and sensation in the body—from the slightest shift in body temperature to the micro-movements in your facial expression. This allows the trauma to be reworked through the complete felt-sense experience and not just the expression of the repressed emotion, which only offers temporary relief.
And let’s be clear…
Many of the coaches, facilitators, and practitioners leading cathartic experiences have no actual trauma training, which is extremely problematic given that these experiences can trigger and retraumatize individuals and/or cause people to have more unhealthy emotional outbursts because they begin to chase the feeling of catharsis.
Reading “The Body Keeps the Score” does not qualify someone to work with trauma, but it does help them become trauma-aware. Navigating one’s trauma journey does not qualify someone to work with trauma, but it can help them cultivate a deeper understanding of what it feels like to experience trauma.
Whether you are a coach, practitioner, facilitator, or someone seeking support on your journey, it’s crucial to understand what’s needed to hold a safe and responsible space for trauma healing, and that begins by understanding the difference between being trauma-aware, trauma-informed, and trauma-trained.
Being trauma-aware means that someone acknowledges the existence of trauma but they don’t have a specific understanding of the impact of trauma.
Being trauma-informed means that someone clearly understands the impact of trauma. They know how to spot the signs of trauma, how to navigate stress responses, and have plans in place to help prevent trauma triggers. They are aware of trauma in their work at all times, work within their scope of practice, and know when it’s best to refer out. Being trauma-informed means that someone can help their clients be present with their emotions and express those emotions, but they lack the training to support a client with the processing of those emotions.
Being trauma-trained means that someone is appropriately trained and equipped to provide trauma-centered care and can help clients process their past and present emotions while completing trauma response cycles.
It’s important to know the difference, especially since words like trauma and somatics have become trends over these past couple of years. Seeing the influx of cathartic experiences within personal development doesn't surprise me. Many people facilitate these types of experiences because of the perceived power that they offer. There is an allure that comes with it—to be seen as a healer or someone with the ability to heal you—it’s tempting. This usually begins with an innocent intention of wanting to help people heal. Still, it often ends up steeped in ego and superficial motives that have the facilitator sacrificing the safety of their containers for heightened cathartic moments on the brink of breakdowns, which leaves behind a trail of traumatized clients.
This is not okay, and yet it’s happening far too often. As coaches, facilitators, and practitioners leading cathartic experiences, it’s important to become trauma-informed (here’s a program that I highly recommend) or trauma-trained so you can hold a safe and responsible space for your clients. It’s also important to position these experiences as what they are—practices that help alleviate tension through the intense release of emotions.
Trauma can be healed, but it requires slowing everything down so you can work with the traumatic memory that is imprinted within the body.
Cathartic experiences may offer powerful Instagrammable moments, but when it comes to trauma healing, these experiences can lead to more damage than good.
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