Effects of Cussing

This addresses using words with literal meanings of feces, sex, and/or religious concepts to communicate other things.

Background considerations

The literal/most original current meanings of the words are what they are.
In some cases, what qualifies as another definition of a word is a matter of how common a non-literal use has become. Concerning "crap" for example, the non-literal use of a rough word for feces ("crap") to refer to unwanted things/nonsense became common enough that definitions like “rubbish/nonsense” became listed definitions of "crap".
That wonderful, caring, reputable people cuss/smoke/etc. doesn’t mean that cussing/smoking/etc. isn’t better avoided.
An alternative to cussing is to peacefully work on getting better at taking a positive/productive attitude/approach to the situation. You don’t have to sit there and grit your teeth. (If for example, you drop your pencil you could choose to take a productive approach and just pick up the pencil (maybe with a bit of a laugh) and get back to work with a positive attitude not at all phased by dropping your pencil and having gained some practice for dealing with situations when the situation is much worse and the stakes are much higher for the approach/attitudes you take to the situation.)
What one hears and says can both have subtle effects on attitudes which tend to gradually/eventually affect people’s lives at various possible levels.
Having reached an age at which society/most people generally tend to give up on helping you avoid negative choices and attitudes and such choices typically go unaddressed (except perhaps as it pertains to a specific environment), doesn’t mean that negative choices are OK. (For example, people are unlikely to try to talk a 50-year-old out of smoking, considering it to likely be a waste of time and considering the risk to the relationship from attempting to do so, but smoking doesn’t become fine as one gets older.)
Cussing doesn’t make one an adult.

Please consider if you cussing might influence you and/or others in the direction of the following

Influencing a less thoughtful approach in yourself and others.
Bringing up inappropriately whatever the word literally refers to.
A less respectful / wholesome atmosphere.
More of other disrespectful communication that doesn’t necessarily involve cussing.
Distraction such as possibly from dealing with the situation in a positive/helpful way.
Tending in some cases to set an example of and/or gradually establish habits towards one or more of the following:

Being disrespectful in response to disliking something.

Being disrespectful more generally, in attitudes and/or behavior.

Using a situation one doesn’t like as an excuse for negative behavior / being disrespectful.

Agitated attitudes (reinforcing an impulse of agitation) ; while following (reinforcing) an impulse could in the short run be stress relieving, a long run effect of cussing could be to gradually establish/reinforce habits of agitated attitudes and behavior (in the long run more stress) by reinforcing an impulse of agitation. (For example, if someone got mad in a checkers game and felt an impulse to dump the board and followed that impulse, dumping the board might relieve stress in the short run – and an impulse to respond likewise next time in a similar situation might become stronger.)

Doing something one shouldn't do because they think it will help them to be perceived a certain way (or to avoid being perceived a certain way) or to fit in with a group – a habit which could influence the same if one needs to take street drugs for that (or whatever one might need to do for their environment/situation; consider that cussing might do the job for you; for others with their environment it isn’t near enough; they need to take street drugs for that; an attitude of and practice with resiliency is important).

Giving up on trying to live the best you can.

The habit of not breaking a bad habit.
Influencing increased disrespect in society such as by influencing more agitated attitudes and habits of dealing with things one doesn't like by being disrespectful. This makes problems more difficult to resolve.

An analogy An analogy in concept: Consider someone in a game of checkers dumping the board when upset about how the game is going. In the short run dumping the board might be stress relieving for the person who dumps the board (at least if one has the habit of doing so), emphasize a point (that they’re ticked off about the game), and get someone’s attention. Before considering it a good idea to dump the board consider other possible effects (such as those for harmful effects of cussing). Is dumping a checkerboard what you would want to model to your kids? Is it how you would want your kids to respond to a game not going how they would like? – or more generally to respond to things they don’t like – in attitude or behavior? Would that approach be helpful to society? What about the same questions regarding cussing?

Why you might “feel better” after cussing – and things you might consider in relation to those

Possibly in some cases it could facilitate a tiny momentary superficial thrill type feeling (or other desired feeling) related to showing contempt, being intentionally disrespectful, etc.

This could tend to be harmful.

It avoids the short run stress of resisting/over-riding an impulse.

Giving in to an impulse to cuss re-enforces the impulse to cuss and more generally the general attitude/behavior impulse related to it. The long run matters more and resisting/over-riding an impulse to cuss could help develop the skills/attitudes for resisting/over-riding other impulses. Also, there are more ways to avoid cussing than gritting your teeth with the same attitude minus the cussing. Working on a productive/positive response in attitude and behavior is an option.

It avoids the discomfort of breaking a habit.

There are benefits of breaking a cussing habit. Also, the process of trying to improve with accepting the discomfort of over-riding with positive attitudes what one feels like doing as well as progress in becoming better are beneficial.

It might distract from an uncomfortable analysis of the situation. For example, if someone is driving badly, cussing focusing on how bad the other driver was driving and how much of a lousy driver (and probably lousy person) they are might in the short run be more comfortable than something like, “Sometimes I drive badly because I’m not paying attention or in too big of a hurry; it sure is disrespectful/dangerous; I need to drive carefully.”

The uncomfortable analysis the cussing can distract from could be helpful.

It can give you a feeling of being free from being ruled by a no cussing rule for yourself and/or the standards that lead to it.

This can be dangerous and we are all ruled by something; we choose what we are ruled by. Being ruled by an impulse is being ruled. Being ruled by a desire to feel not ruled by a no cussing rule for oneself and/or the standards that lead to it is being ruled. There might be some analogy to a teenager smoking with an attitude of being free to smoke not being ruled by living healthy, prudence, etc. with the irony that in so doing they begin to be ruled by a desire for nicotine.

Feelings related to one’s environment and attitudes (such as “fitting in” with a group, viewing cussing as an adult activity, etc.)

Cussing doesn’t make one an adult and doing things you don’t really feel you should do in order to “fit in” can be a harmful habit to start. (Besides, in many cases cussing might not actually make you “fit in” with the group even if it seems like it would, compared to being true to your values with a genuine respect for others. You can also be at peace with not having to “fit in” with the group, especially at all times in every way.)

Feeling that you have shown people who cuss that you don’t think negatively of them as you also cuss

Trying to show people that you don’t think negatively of them by doing what they do even though you have misgivings about it could be a distraction from and less effective than working on attitudes and behavior of more genuinely having positive regard for others and of that not being dependent on agreeing with everything they do. It also doesn’t necessarily show that you don’t think negatively of them as it is possible for people to think negatively of themselves – and genuinely having positive regard for others could mean not cussing. Also, doing what you have misgivings about in an attempt to show you don’t think negatively of people who do those things could influence the same with other things.

Reducing the harmful effects of cussing
When hearing such a word use, a simple split-second type mental reminder that it isn’t OK, and avoiding an adverse emotional reaction, could help to decrease the harmful effects of cussing by avoiding the spread of its use to you and avoiding the possibly broader impact on attitudes that an acceptance of such a word use could have. You having an adverse emotional reaction could increase the harmful effects of cussing because that can get you down. This might have implications for how children are addressed concerning such word uses. It might be worth considering addressing such word use in a way that (1) helps promote a recognition that it’s not OK (for anyone of any age – it doesn’t become OK as people get older, like smoking doesn’t become OK as people get older, we just put more effort into helping younger people so we’re more likely to address it to them), (2) helps promote the distinction, applicable to other situations as well, between people and things they do that they shouldn’t do, such as between people who smoke and smoking, between you and bad choices you make, and (3) avoids modeling an adverse emotional reaction.

Habit kickers depending on age (child or adult) or situation might include a quick reminder/respectful request, no talking for one minute, sitting out, an allowance deduction, confiscated cell phone for x minutes, paying a dollar to whoever catches you first (for an adult who wants to quit their kids might eagerly help), etc. Also, consider putting some focus on responding productively/positively to situations (attitudes and behavior) instead of only focusing on avoiding cussing, and allowing yourself to be at peace with the habit breaking process.