Write to Relieve Stress
The study says that if you are having stressful experiences that you should not keep them locked up inside. Instead you should pick up a pen and notebook and let is all out on paper. The researchers found that by writing about their lives people tended to visit the doctor less, sleep better and had a stronger immune system.
They idea of writing a bout the things in your life that are causing stress is called 'expressive writing'.
Often times a person may be facing a particularly stressful situation such as being diagnosed with cancer, losing a job or the lose of a loved one. These life events can make writing very difficult as it forces the person to face something they may not want to.
However, by facing these stressful experiences the ability for a person to cope with them increases. Writing is an excellent way to face the stress because it can be a very private and personal experience. According to the head of the University of Texas Psychology Department, James Pennebaker, the hard the topic is to write about the more beneficial it is to the person's health. According to the study people who faced "the disclosure of traumatic topics but not superficial ones" showed a significant decrease in their blood pressure.
Sleep is one of the most beneficial affects of writing about stress. Often time adults have problems sleeping at night because they cannot stop thinking about their financial worries, illnesses and children. Pennebaker has said that, "Simply by writing about issues that are bothering them, they sleep better."
Getting a good nights sleep is essential for our overall mental and physical well being. Making it definitely worth trying to write about our stress.
Expressive writing is something that should be kept completely private and not shown to anyone else. This is because if you write with the idea in the back of your mind that someone else will see it then you may not write as openly and honestly. To get the best benefit out of the writing experience you should be completely honest and open. When you have finished writing about your stress it is up to you what you do with the writing. Maybe you will want to keep it safely tucked away or maybe you would feel more comfortable destroying it completely. What matters is that you are facing your problems and getting the health benefits from it.
Sources
http://www.courant.com/news/health/hc-health-writing0410.artapr10,0,2653930.story?coll=hc-headlines-health
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/NEWS/704100489/1326
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2007/0410/life/stories/health_writing.htm
Published by Siun Griffin
I have been a freelance writer for several years. I enjoy writing about a variety of topics, particularly the environment, animals, entertainment, and travel. However, I don't limit myself to those topics, a... View profile
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