F***ING BRILLIANT
EAMONN: Swearing has got a bad reputation – which I personally think it doesn’t deserve. I have to be honest, I like a swear or two or three. Indeed, I have special swear words for special occasions. Why? Because it makes me feel better. You may not agree, but I’m backed up by science.
Studies say swearing can have a truly liberating effect when we’re feeling bottled up with frustration. Saying the F-word, or similar, can have an immediate calming impact. Pain is a good example. How can anyone deal with pain without swearing? I have had a lot of pain over the past five or six years, so my swear box runneth over. I’m not saying it’s better than a couple of painkilling tablets, but it certainly has an initial short, sharp effect. I accept listening to someone swear isn’t always the most wonderful experience, especially when it is in front of children, older people, those of a religious persuasion or who are sensitive in soul – but if I’m honest, it doesn’t half feel good when those curse words fly!
Experts also say using curse words can also help us build emotional resilience and cope with situations in which we feel that we have no control. Swearing also comes easier to some nationalities than others. Being Irish, swearing can often be descriptive and poetical. We can use it as a compliment, so something may not just be ‘great’ – to show we really like it, we can often say ‘it’s f***ing great’. We also have an F word which isn’t the same as your F word. Now, I respect people’s right to be abhorred and offended but the science says, when used appropriately and responsibly, it turns out that sporadic outbursts of cursing, cussing, swearing – whatever the heck you may call it – are a good way to process the chaos of being human, in a world where so much isn’t under our control.
‘Can you deal with pain without swearing?’ Eamonn