I can still remember meeting Phoebe’s grandmother. Tiny (as we affectionately called her) was your quintessential Nan. As soon as you arrived the tea was brewing and a plate full of SAO biscuits topped with tomato miraculously appeared.
One time during a visit a stray teabag dripped all over the floor. And Tiny let fly with a swearing tirade that made me blush, and I was a sailor at the time ;)
Yes. Sweet Tiny made a great cuppa but she had the mouth of drunken sailor.
Tiny was before her time. Who knew that her emotion fuelled language is now a proven method for dealing with stress, pain, anger, surprise and happiness?
Now, we know that is swearing is NOT appropriate in all situations. But it’s now a recommended coping method for those times when steam is coming out your ears and you just need to release. We just hope the kids are out of earshot.
Here are some reasons why it can be good to let some expletives flow:
- Swearing allows you to communicate very strong emotions very clearly which in some scenarios reduce the need to get physical
- It helps you cope with pain. Swearing triggers arts of the brain which works as a neural analgesic.
- It make you feel superhuman which can improve your performance and overcome your fears.
There are flip sides to point 1 and 3 so it best to only use swearing for the powers of good. You also don’t want to over do it because the more you do it the less effective it is for pain and stress relief.
So next time you really feel the need to let go of some pressure and you are not in earshot of any sensitive listeners feel free to dive into your handbag of salty language. And remember - the saltier the language the better the relief! :)
