CATHARSIS

catharsis, katharsis, abreaction

(noun) (psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions

catharsis, katharsis, purgation

(noun) purging the body by the use of a cathartic to stimulate evacuation of the bowels

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

catharsis (countable and uncountable, plural catharses)

(drama) A release of emotional tension after an overwhelming vicarious experience, resulting in the purging or purification of the emotions, as through watching a dramatic production (especially a tragedy).

Any release of emotional tension to the same effect, more widely.

A purification or cleansing, especially emotional.

(psychology) A therapeutic technique to relieve tension by re-establishing the association of an emotion with the memory or idea of the event that first caused it, and then eliminating it by complete expression (called the abreaction).

(medicine) Purging of the digestive system.