Is bad language good for your health?

    Man using bad language    Photo: abcnewsradioonline.com

Swearing can help us cope with pain and stay in control of our emotions, a study says.

We all say them from time to time, perhaps a little too much.

But now psychologists are saying that muttering the odd curse word every now and then will actually do us some good.

Research has shown that the occasional expletive can even make us a stronger person.

How? It's believed that small doses of profanity can help control emotions and make it easier to manage pain.

The investigation into swearing was conducted by Dr Richard Stephens, a senior lecturer at Keele University.

The academic has conducted numerous experiments over the years to prove his theory, most recently by having people play a shoot-em-up style computer games.

He explained: "The video games made people feel more aggressive so their language became more emotional and they swore. This explains swearing and makes it more acceptable. We want to use more taboo words when we are emotional.

“We grow up learning what these words are. Using these words while we are emotional can help us to feel stronger.

“Some words are more taboo than others – but the effects can be greater, the stronger the word."

Swearing has become a heated topic recently after President Putin banned pop bands and artists from uttering fowl language.

The head of Russia has even gone as far as introducing fines for those who break the law and is having warning signs added to books that contain rude language.

On the other side of the pond things could not be more different after the release of the most profane film ever in 2013.

The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, dropped 506 F-bombs over the course of the movie and shattered swearing records.