Here’s the gist:
3-4 writing sessions
15-20 minutes each
Writing about a difficult, painful, or traumatic situation
That’s it.
That’s Expressive Writing—a “simple” but powerful technique developed by James Pennebaker, an American psychologist, that helps heal the mind and the body.
Since his first study in 1986, more than 1,000 other studies have looked at how this practice helps reduce stress, improve immune function, and mood, and promotes lasting health benefits in:
Moderate asthma
Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and fibromyalgia
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
HIV/AIDS
Breast and colorectal cancer
Cardiovascular disease
Depression
PTSD
(Pennebaker also shares when expressive writing may not help, such as during or immediately after a traumatic experience)
How could writing possibly improve cancer or AIDS?
It’s not a magic bullet, he says. The pen can’t improve virus counts or eliminate cancer cells. But a bolstered immune system can reduce symptoms.
There seems to be a link between the stress-laden task of holding hard things inside and our neurobiological drive to understand situations.
There is damage, physically and mentally, that can happen when we stew or keep secrets or just don’t understand “why.”
Organizing emotionally fraught thoughts into more clearly stated stories on the page helps the mind start to release, which allows the body to rebound toward healthier states.
Researchers in New Zealand, for instance, found that “HIV patients randomly assigned to engage in expressive writing showed enhanced immune function, such as increased CD4 levels and lower viral load, up to six months after the intervention.” (p. 53)
At UCLA, breast cancer patients who participated in expressive writing had significantly fewer cancer-related medical visits and reported fewer symptoms, though another study found no improvement in metastatic cancer patients. (p. 55)
Check out the book, see if the technique could be right for you. It’s “simple.” It’s not easy. These are painful areas and we struggle with them for a reason. We have to be vulnerable to face this.
Opening Up by Writing It Down: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain
James W. Pennebaker PhD
Joshua M. Smyth, PhD
