question of the day (how crazy am I really, volume 18,549)
In times of high stress, violence seems very appealing. I think I want to learn kickboxing. Or something. I think getting hit in the face a few times a week would make me feel better.
There's a lot of overlap between this impulse and the impulse towards other, less socially acceptable behaviors. And by "a lot of overlap," I mean "these things feel exactly the same to me."
Question, then, becomes: is there a functional difference, or is it just semantics? is the difference between "healthy cartharsis" and "self-injury" really just the cultural lens, or is there something more to it?
I want to say it's just culture. I want to say that there are some things that make people uncomfortable and those are the things we label as damaged.
Or maybe my desire to hit someone/get hit in order to relieve stress is somehow different from what everyone else feels when they enjoy socially acceptable violence.
I don't know.
There's a lot of overlap between this impulse and the impulse towards other, less socially acceptable behaviors. And by "a lot of overlap," I mean "these things feel exactly the same to me."
Question, then, becomes: is there a functional difference, or is it just semantics? is the difference between "healthy cartharsis" and "self-injury" really just the cultural lens, or is there something more to it?
I want to say it's just culture. I want to say that there are some things that make people uncomfortable and those are the things we label as damaged.
Or maybe my desire to hit someone/get hit in order to relieve stress is somehow different from what everyone else feels when they enjoy socially acceptable violence.
I don't know.