It is useful to write about your feelings and thoughts: it calms the nerves, helps to put your head in order, to understand yourself. And now psychologists have found another positive effect of this activity. It heals, literally.
An unusual experiment was conducted by psychologists at the University of Auckland (New Zealand): they selected a group of healthy men and women who made small incisions in the skin, and then watched them heal. Half of the participants were asked to keep notes about their daily lives in a notebook. After 11 days, the researchers found that 76% of those who kept a diary had successfully healed their wounds. For those who did not, the cuts had healed by that time only in 42% of cases.1.
The conclusion of the researchers: writing by hand affects not only the mental, but also the physical state of our body. During the experiment, they also noted a drop in the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, in the “writing” group. Excess cortisol suppresses the body’s immune system, making it difficult for it to fight infections.
What is the secret of the healing effect that record keeping has on us? Social psychologist James Pennebaker, the author of the expressive writing method, believes that the description of thoughts and experiences weakens our psychological defenses, the maintenance of which the body spends considerable resources. Alone with paper (or a computer), we feel more relaxed and our background stress levels are reduced.
The psychologist advises to write every day for 15-20 minutes, by hand or on a computer. You should not think in advance about what: the process is more important than the result. The text can be discarded or erased immediately after it is written. “If you feel awkward at first, it’s okay,” says James Pennebaker. Over time, you will learn to write easily and freely. And then you will notice how your thoughts will become clear and it will become easier for you to understand your experiences.
7 Principles of Expressive Writing Technique
- Write about your feelings about life, about what excites you. What is happening now in your life, at work, in relationships. Are you satisfied with your life?
- Use the stream of consciousness technique. For 5-10 minutes, write what comes to your mind first, without trying to think about anything and without following the coherence of words.
- Have a dialogue with yourself. Try writing questions with your right hand (if you’re right-handed) and answers with your left to enhance the sense of real dialogue.
- Celebrate inspirational moments. What made you happy today? What made you feel energized? Focus on positive emotions.
- Paint your portrait. Don’t worry about similarity. Let emotion be the main thing in the picture. Let yourself fantasize.
- Keep track of your successes. Try to look for reasons to be proud. Learned ten foreign words? Write about it. Were you able to complete all the tasks you set out to do? One more line in the overall standings.
- Describe troubles and problems in the third person. This will help you distance yourself from unpleasant feelings and more soberly assess the situation.
1 Psychosomatic medicine, 2013, vol. 75, № 6.