From TFA: > Many explanations have been given, among them explanations in terms of the Aristotelian doctrine of catharsis, according to which it is beneficial

From TFA: > Many explanations have been given, among them explanations in terms of the Aristotelian doctrine of catharsis, according to which it is beneficial for humans to purge their negative emotions by experiencing art. I'd change the last sentence to: > [...] purge their negative emotions by experiencing them. Negative emotions are easy to repress: we don't want to show weakness, in what's an everyday rats' race. How many times did you have to put up a happy mask when entering the office, coworker asking you, "how are you", like on auto-pilot you put up a smile and respond "good, and how are you?" while dying a little bit inside. You're wasting your life on a 9-5 job you hate, your best friend's old cat died, your ex posted a vacation picture with their new partner, you're in conflict again with a person you love, and you're a shoulder-to-cry-on short. You go home to the safety of your noise-cancelling headphones and you put on some Anathema to force the tears out. (inb4 depressed rollcat, don't worry, I'm actually OK.)