It’s no secret that humans curse.
But why do they do it?
Sure, we do it to vent frustration. We also do it to express our emotions, thoughts, and feelings.
But as it turns out, it may even more useful than we usually give it credit for.
Sure, most of society frowns upon cursing.
It occupies a space somewhere between vulgar honesty… and brash, lewd comedy.
But here’s the weird thing.
Is it possible that cursing may be more than that?
Is it possible that cursing may actually be a sign of a richer vocabulary?
Is it possible that cursing may even be beneficial to us in a health and wellness sense?
Well, according to a recent post published on CNN.com, cursing may indeed hold many more benefits than it’s often given credit for.
And in this post, we’re going to explore those benefits.
Here are 5 ways in which cursing may actually be good for you, even if it isn’t necessarily ‘polite.’
5 Ways That Cursing May Actually Be Good For You
Cursing occupies is strange space in popular culture.
On one hand, it’s something that most of us do with frequent regularity.
But on the flip side of the coin, subjectively speaking, it isn’t necessarily something that we spend a lot of time doing when we compare our time spent cursing to our time spent speaking in ways that don’t quite qualify as cursing.
According to statistics, humans tend to swear all through life. But, we do so at a rate of about one in 200 words.
Swearing also tends to peak during adolescence. Men are said to swear not only more often, but also more offensively than women.
But why? What benefits does it hold?
Well, as it turns out, there are some surprising studies about that.
According to researchers, cursing:
- Serves as a sign of intelligence
- Improves pain tolerance
- Serves as a sign of honesty
- Shows creativity
- Gives us the opportunity to express our feelings without throwing punches or getting into fights
What Makes A Curse Word A Curse Word?
There’s really only one word that can fully encapsulate what makes a curse word a curse word.
Taboo.
The more taboo a word tends to be, the more shocking (and ironically, the more clinically beneficial) it is.
In fact, that seems to be where curse words gain their power.
There’s something inexplicably relieving about muttering a curse word when things go wrong, or when emotions are pent-up and in need of release.
Obviously, There Are Benefits To Cursing
But does that give you the all-clear curse whenever you want?
The answer to this question is obviously a ‘no.’
There are certain contexts where cursing just isn’t acceptable.
And in those contexts, it stands to reason that we should use discretion.
Swearing in front of our children, in front of customers at our workplace, or in front of our in-laws during a family dinner could earn us a number of substantial social and/or professional repercussions.
And knowing that the act of cursing carries with it some inherent health and wellness value certainly doesn’t excuse you from those.
But it might make it easier to forgive yourself when you happen to slip up and mutter something profane during a moment of pure emotion.
