Intense physical activity isn't necessarily violent catharsis.

I almost never engage in catharsis now, but I do go on half marathon runs when I'm stressed. They're not the same thing... as like yelling at my husband over random annoyances.

It definitely seems likely that physical activity is beneficial. I'd be curious to see studies comparing something like running vs. boxing. (Also weightlifting vs. cardio, or springs vs. long-distance.)

Additionally, one thing that's often obscured in studies (or the reporting thereof) is that different people are different. Studies say that running doesn't help people lose weight, but that's looking for significant effects across a population. For some individuals, it does. The concept of "ymmv" is incredibly important when you care about individual impacts.

Almost 100 comments as of me adding mine, and you're the first to mention journaling so I have to chime in. It's better than some therapy I've had. Therapy can of course be hugely helpful if/when you find a decent therapist, but writing things down really is the next best thing.

I haven't felt the need to do it in years, since I replaced it with a concise log which doesn't usually get bogged down in details. Mostly because I purged the majority of my worst freakouts into text files no one else is likely to read years ago. This wasn't the only thing that helped me, but it was at least half of it.