In our last post we talked about the anger myth about how venting your anger is not really healthy. As you would expect, there are opposite ideas that say letting your emotions out is healthy. It is all about how you do it and if your catharsis leads to constructive change or coping. Research suggests that “writing” your feelings can be very helpful in the coping/healing process. Writing has the ability to allow us to craft new narratives about our lives and the meaning that we give it. You become the author of your situation versus the victim. Do you agree? How have your used writing to help you heal? Tweet us @ronhuxley or leave a comment below…
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Research is starting to shed some light on the thorny issue of talking about trauma. Does it help to talk about traumas you’ve experienced or not? Is it a good idea for someone to write about traumatic experiences? It turns out, like most things in life, that it depends on how and in what circumstances.
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Although writing as therapy actually has an ancient history, a model was developed for research purposes by James Pennebaker, Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas 2 . The method consists of several writing exercises with an emphasis on expressing one’s emotions. It has been shown in numerous experiments conducted by him and his colleagues that this simple procedure leads to improvements in physical health.
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Let your hand and the pencil or pen guide you.
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Set aside a time each day
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| Find a place where you feel alone and comfortable |
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Write out how you feel. Don’t use big words and don’t talk about it. Show, don’t tell, as they say. “I feel _______ that ____________.”
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Ron Huxley LMFT 