Do you need to get something of your chest but not sure of
where to go? In the hustle and bustle of
the city, it can seem hard to express ourselves properly. It becomes
second-nature to bottle up problems and put on a brave face. Yet a growing
social enterprise is seeking to provide everyone and anyone with an outlet –
where they can write of and share their experiences anonymously online –
Cathartic co.
Type up your troubles
Setting up the site began in 2014, from a Manchester base.
The aim was to provide people of any age and background the opportunity to
express themselves. Cathartic is a
website where you can type up your troubles, read those of others, and offer
your advice – all with anonymity – it’s that simple. The format is
straightforward and easy-to-use, like a hug of clarity, even when things feel
chaotic.
The founder, Neil Chandler, has drawn on his own experience
of hardship to create Cathartic co. He emphasizes that ‘it’s not easy, but critical
to talk about things’ and so the site is the opportunity for people to get
things out in the open with ‘a higher level of anonymity’. It’s expanding too,
whilst still providing a secure environment for self expression where ‘the
public come first’. Yes, what is surprising about Cathartic is whilst it is
anonymous, it is also highly personal. Operated like a business, not a charity,
this means users are never seen as a source of revenue.
Whether you are a student or senior, it doesn’t matter, your
experience is just as valuable as anyone else’s. It is that assurance which can
be enough to brighten your day.
Do you ever read stories of the hardships of others and feel
inspired to think differently? Perhaps you’re a fan of Humans of New York or
other online features which show the variety in life and that you can comment on
it? Cathartic takes personal storytelling and its emotional benefits to the
next level. It also, Neil emphasizes,
works to ‘challenge our own preconceptions’. You
may read a story on a subject such as ‘eating disorders’ and assumes the author
to be a woman, to then find the male pronoun being used.
The clear thing about Cathartic is that it is human
The word Cathartic is
taken from the Greek language meaning ‘purification of emotions’ and the site
provides a place for that – and it’s growing. There you can write about
whatever has affected you, and stories on there include themes such as
feelings, sex, anxiety and suicide.
Although anonymous, the clear thing about Cathartic is that
it is human. With stories as varied as ‘Battling and overcoming anorexia’ to
‘today was a good day’, you are encouraged to write whatever you are feeling. It’s
reassuring to know that you can hear the experiences from people all over the
world, both in their stories and their support.
The times of turning to (often unreliable) chatrooms or keeping things
quiet when you are finding things tough, now need not be the case.
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