Catharsis can be an important part of the healing process. When you feel as though you can’t turn to anyone to commiserate, seeking out the right kind of art can allow you to purge your emotions and feel as though someone empathizes. The classic example is seeking out love songs and rom-coms post-breakup, but there is an area of media entertainment that serves the same purpose but is shadowed more in controversy.

Sometimes, though, you can consume too much of the comfort food. You can only watch “Dirty Dancing” so many times in a week before your friends might tell you that it is time to get over “him” and get out in the world again.

But watching cheesy movies and digging for ice cream in the freezer all seems pretty playful, right? There are more productive things that you could be doing, but you’re broken-hearted, and you need time to heal.

So what happens when you’re angry? For me, on days when I get really upset, hard rock and hip hop makes its way through my earbuds. I can’t relate to his life story, but from time to time I like to put on some of Eminem’s older albums. Even if I’m well aware that in the grand scheme of things, my day hasn’t been that bad, quietly fuming while I put on “Rock Bottom” FEELS GREAT! When the social norm around campus is to greet everyone with a smile and tell them that “I’m doing great, how about you?” Eminem’s rants ripping into my ear is just what I need. It is a tool that I’ve found very useful, but only when used appropriately.

Studies have shown that aggressive lyrics & music bring out the aggressive side in us, which I absolutely think is true. Though they don’t always fall under the realm of aggression, I think we all have our pump-up songs. They’re songs that have the power to make us go from “I don’t really think I can do this” to “I’m going to own this.” And aggressive songs have that same power, but if I run through “Rock Bottom” more than a few times, it doesn’t have the same effect.

Then I’m just listening to angry music. Then I’m still sitting in my pajamas and eating ice cream, just because it is easier to stay down and not try to get back up. Then “Rock Bottom” becomes a personal anthem, not a private release. And I think that this is where the danger comes in. This comfort food for overwhelming emotions is to be used sparingly, to help us vent and then move on. Who wants to be stuck in a permanent state of fuming?

Art is vital to society for a boundless reasons, and just because it reflects dismal qualities of life doesn’t mean that it doesn’t serve a valuable purpose. The trick is not to get stuck in the rut.

Jeffrey Langan can be reached at lang5466@stthomas.edu.