There are great therapeutic benefits to writing backed by science, that’s why I have been writing a blog since 2017 and I am in good health 🙂
Before that I used to write a journal. I started writing two books, finished and published only one (it is in Italian, not a big success yet, only friends of mine bought it so far. My next challenge is translating it or having it translated into English. Any volunteers for the editing?).
Anyway, coming back to the topic of today: keeping a journal, for instance, can be extremely helpful. It is a low-cost, easily accessible, and versatile form of therapy. It can be done by yourself or guided by a coach or also practiced with a group.
These benefits are certainly not trivial. The potential positive outcomes of a creative writing process reach much further and deeper than simply writing in a diary.
A case out of all: Participants in a study who wrote about their most traumatic experiences for 15 minutes, four days in a row, experienced better health outcomes up to four months later (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005). This research showed a significant healing effect in individuals who have experienced a traumatic or extremely stressful event.
Regular writing has helped me:
• Find meaning in my experiences, view things from a new perspective, and see the silver linings in the most stressful or negative experiences, that is understand what life wanted to teach me.
• Get important insights about myself and my environment.
I started writing regularly when I was bullied in the workplace by my boss, a narcissistic person. For the whole duration of my work there, about three years, she bullied me. It was a very bad, sad and stressful experience, as you can easily figure it out. That is also what my book is about. Writing helped me to increase my feeling of well-being, to keep distance from what was happening (I am me, what happened is what happened, not easy though) and to have a better vision of what was going on. My family also supported me a lot. Of course, I had to run away from that job but I survived without severe damages like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, or any other issues.
What about you? Have you experienced any benefits on your health by writing?
You can find my blog here: crisbiecoach.blog
I love how writing can distort time and the way words can be moved around making different patterns.
Yeah! Like how description in a short story can slow down or pause time, or how in poetry letters can be spaced far apart on a page.
I experienced benefits when only after I started therapy and was taught to begin changing my negative thinking. Prior to that, my journals were spirals downward into rumination hell.
(Sorry for the terrible grammar lol.)
I’m glad you were able to learn, I experienced something similar even after starting therapy. I find that I must be intentional in my words—merely writing about so and so and how it makes me angry, will just make me more angry. Writing in a journal that I am strong and that I love myself helps.
Very true. I also have learned that writing affirmations like “I am strong” truly does help. I used to be sooo skeptical of that but I tried it and it does work to help change the pathways of thoughts in our brains into a positive direction.
Wonderful post. Writing has helped heal me and make meaning of my life the way nothing else can. So glad to see that I’m not alone. Keep writing 🙂
I will Beth, thank you!
I’m not sure if writing has been good for my health and wellbeing. The closest I’ve come to having a regular writing habit is this blog. Having a blog has been good in the sense that I made friends, produced some written work I was proud of, helped release/express negative feelings. On the other hand, I’ve also become terribly addicted to the stats, have a hard time concentrating on and completing other activities (including important ones like my job), and I haven’t been sleeping well (not necessarily related to blogging).
I suppose it’s worth noting that I didn’t have the healthiest lifestyle before I started blogging either. My main pre-COVID activity was going out for karaoke and drinking with friends, which also isn’t all that healthy. So it’s not as if my baseline was perfect health either, but I’m also not sure that I’ve experienced much progress towards better health as a result of writing.
Sometimes you may become “slave” to the stats, as you say. However, I think you should write mainly for yourself. In this case it may be really helpful, at least according to my experience. I have been writing since I was a child, in a journal that was my secret. Of course I had bad and tough moments in my life, but writing (and more recently meditation) has always been my way out.
I began writing to encourage others, and in the process it has encouraged me. My readers have encouraged me. Knowing I am helping others, even in some small way, has encouraged me. I also wrote because times were difficult and I wanted to express that. Now that times are better for me in one way, I write for those still experiencing difficult times.
Even though I’m not sure writing improves or aids physical health, it definitely has improved my mental, psychological, and spiritual health. There is something about seeing your thoughts on paper (or online) that gives them validity and makes them tangible. It is therapeutic for me. Thanks for this post.
I started writing/blogging during this pandemic. Writing for me is cathartic. It certainly helps to declutter the mind and to make sense of things. It’s extremely beneficial to my wellbeing and for learning so much about myself. Thank you for this post!
Some of my earliest blogging helped me deal with some pretty difficult people at work. I highly recommend it, as long as certain names get edited for self-preservation! Thanks for the post!
I’ve been writing off and on for the last 30 years. For me, writing helps to clarify an experience. I am forced to focus and remember details and feelings and responses accurately. Once I’ve transcribed it on paper – or the internet – I can better understand and analyze what happened.If it is a pleasant memory, it is more permanently fixed. If it was unpleasant, I can see what happened and learn from it.
Without the actual transcription and the creative effort to make it logical and comprehensible, memory of an event becomes untrustworthy. The focus is lost. The specifics no longer merge together to form a cohesive whole and one is left with disjointed facts and opinions that happened to stand out. One ends up recreating relationships from speculation. Details get edited out or perhaps just confused, feelings of the time are reinterpreted, and everything is contaminated by a patina of emotion.
If I am lucky, someone will be entertained or otherwise benefited by it. Or they’ll take offense and never look at my blog again.
Writing has always been the best way of expression for me. Being an introvert I think I can express myself better in writing, than in spoken words. It also has therapeutic effects. I have recently written a book, contemporary fiction , an anthology of short stories, and like you it has mostly been bought by my friends 🙂
Keep up the good work.
Cheers
I am also an introvert!
I agree! Writing boosts brain activity. So let’s keep at it! XD
I’m hoping blogging helps me to be easier to live with. Oh and process random things in my life without annoying my family and friends too much. If by writing I could change my attitude and increase the positivity of my mental health it would be great.
Argh WordPress will not let me sign in! I’m https://ethatsmeagain.wordpress.com/
I think you can at least give it a try!
Avē Imperātor, moritūrī tē salūtant (“Hello, kings, salute theons who will soon die”) is a well-known Latin phrase quoted in Suetonius, De vita Caesarum (“Life of Caesar” or “Twelve Caesars”). [1] it was used by the naumachiarii – prisoners and criminals who were sentenced to die fighting during false naval encounters during the events of Lake Fucinus in 52 – in the presence of Emperor Claudius.
I am the one. it’s me .
whether the digital sphere, processor … will be fast than sound, light or how fast, do you do, processor, strong / fast, and stable Yes, track the entrusted synergy of the default
1 7 2 THE NAG HAMMADI LIBRARY IN ENGLISH
strate that they are 1 all mistaken, because they are not acquainted with
the origin 1 of chaos, nor with its root. Here is the demonstration. 30
How well it suits 98 all men, on the subject of chaos, to say that 1 it is
a kind of darkness! But in fact it comes from a shadow, 1 which has
been called by the name darkness. And the shadow 1 comes from a
product that has existed 5 since the beginning. It is, moreover, clear that
it (viz., the product) 1 existed before chaos came into being, and that the
latter 1 is posterior to the first product.
Let us therefore concern ourselves 1 with the facts of the matter; and
furthermore, with the first 1 product, from which chaos was projected.
10 And in this way the truth will be clearly demonstrated. 1
After the natural structure of the immortal beings 1 had completely
developed out of the infinite, 1 a likeness then emanated from Pistis
(Faith); 1 it is called Sophia (Wisdom). It exercised volition 15 and be-
came a product resembling 1 the primeval light. And 1 immediately her
will manifested itself 1 as a likeness of heaven, having 1 an unimaginable
magnitude; 20 it was between the immortal beings and those things that
1 came into being after them, like . . . : she (Sophia) 1 functioned as a
veil dividing 1 mankind from the things above.
Now the eternal realm (aeon) 1 of truth has no shadow outside it, 25
for the limitless light is everywhere 1 within it. But its exterior is
shadow, 1 which has been called by the name darkness. From 1 it there
appeared a force, presiding over 1 the darkness. And the forces 30 that
came into being subsequent to them called the shadow 1 “ the limitless
chaos.” From it, 1 every [kind] of divinity sprouted up 1 . . . together
with the entire place, [so that] 1 also, [shadow] is posterior to the first
99 product. It was (in) the abyss that [it] (shadow) appeared, 1 deriving
from the aforementioned Pistis.
Then 1 shadow perceived that there was something 1 mightier than it,
and felt envy; and when it had become pregnant15 of its own accord, sud-
denly it 1 engendered jealousy. Since that day, 1 the principle of jealousy
amongst 1 all the eternal realms and their worlds has been apparent.
Now as for that jealousy, 1 it was found to be an abortion without 10
any spirit in it. Like a shadow it came into existence 1 in a vast watery
substance. Then 1 the bile that had come into being out of the shadow
1 was thrown into a part of chaos. 1 Since that day, a watery substance
15 has been apparent. And what sank within 1 it flowed away, being vis-
ible 1 in chaos: as with a woman giving birth to a child 1 – all her super-
fluities flow out; 1 just so, matter came into being out of 20 shadow and
was projected apart. And it (viz., matter) did not 1 depart from chaos;
rather, matter was in chaos, 1 being in a part of it. 1
cross-section, a sign of crisis. denotes the union of heaven and earth / male and female, in time and space, at one point.+TRUTH IS BEYOND ANY POINT. NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH… ITS BIGEST LOVE GIVEN HUMANITY ❤.
Check out antonio superba E dancer. on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/QPmkH
I am the one. it’s me .👑 / antonio superba
Indeed…I’m also trying to achieve my goals in writer senses…..
There are some moments which I want to capture just as a photographer captures it in his photos. I try to capture them by writing whether it’s a lovely day or a pleasant incident or how I’m feeling. It gives a release to my feelings , my worries and helps me to interact with so many lovely other people from various cultures, age , profession and so on.
👍👍👍
The title already is a catch.
Love the way you explained the benefits of writing to ones health 💯
Writing this is a reflection of your feelings when you are upset or happy even when we feel nothing, even if it is a void, you express something deeper than the void itself☺
I’ve been using my relatively new blog to write about the chronic nerve pain running through my entire system, and it has definitely been therapeutic! Thanks for posting this – now when my wife gets tired of me posting too much I can say but look… there’s proof that it’s helping! Haha. Thanks again – I enjoy your writing
I am happy that writing helps you!
Hi, Cristiana. You might like this: https://pointlessoverthinking.com/2020/08/03/experimenting-with-self-discovery-in-real-time/
Oh yes, very interesting experiment! I will try to answer those questions as well.
This is an informative post, my latest post is an interesting one like this
http://edufi.home.blog/2021/11/12/confused-between-llp-or-private-limited-company/
Please subscribe to my blogsite also!
I think I did!
Thanks @crisbiecoach
It is true, it is a stressed reliever, you express what you want. thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing.
Not to mention, it’s fun!
I totally agree! Writing can be beneficial as it helps your mind to reflect on events more clearly. It can also be a way to document certain feelings so you can revisit them in the future and see the progress you’ve made ever since.
Yes I truly agree that writing has health benefits since it makes you relieve all troubles that you have experienced also make you connect ideas on your mind that might be helpful to solve what is bothering you.
Agree
Writing has helped me significantly since I started back in 2019. I originally started with my journal then I moved to creatively writing on my blog and my mental health has never been better. I get fresh new insights about myself every time I read through my old journal entries. All in all, writing has been amazing for me and I absolutely recommend it
I enjoyed reading this. Writing truly helps us in numerous ways.
Agree, writing really helps us in many ways like, concentration, focus, feeling….
Good to know. Great tips!
And at times, writing can save you from therapy costs (smile).
Indeed!
It improves memory
There’s so many positive health benefits to writing.
Yes of course and thanks for sharing once again
Great post. Very helpful!
That is very valuable…. Here I also found some informative blogs related to good healths. Which I share with you http://www.revivenursinghome.com/2021/08/18/10-tips-for-good-health/
Thank you!
I agree with this. I write a lot and i must say that putting down valuable words on paper makes me feel happy