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How is writing therapeutic?

Jayona Davis

Writing and literacy department, Howard University

ENGW 102-49: Expository writing and literacy studies

Professor Katherine Pope

December 07, 2021

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How is writing therapeutic?

Many people go through very traumatic experiences in their lives. This causes them to

have health issues in many different aspects of their lives, for example; physically, mentally, and

emotionally. According to WebMD, one way to cope with or get past traumatic experiences is to

seek professional help (Cassoobahoy, 2020). In most cases professional help would be going to

see a therapist. Although this may help some people, not everyone is comfortable with telling

strangers their personal problems. Some other methods that can come in handy as an alternative

are meditation, taking medication, and writing. Writing has been proven to be one of the very

effective ways to heal from traumatic experiences in people’s lives.

To begin with, according to american psychological association’s website trauma is

defined as, “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster.”

If not coped with properly, trauma has short and long-term effects. The short-term effects can

include anxiety, sadness, faintness, exhaustion, physical arousal, numbness, and more (Baikie &

Wilhelm, 2018). These reactions are common, however they can make it hard for people to

maintain their normal daily lives. The long-term effects may include depression, sleep disorders,

persistent fatigue, appetite and digestive changes, and long-term health effects including heart,

liver, autoimmune, and chronic problems. These effects are avoidable if the proper steps for

healing are taken in time.

While attending therapy sessions, studies have shown that there is an effective healing

process through writing. This method is called expressive writing. Expressive writing is defined

as, “Personal and emotional writing without regard to punctuation, verb agreement, or other

technical aspects of writing.”. It can also be referred to as expressive disclosure or written

disclosure therapy (Mugerwa & Holden, 2012).

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How is writing therapeutic?

Although this writing technique was discovered in therapy it is something people can do

in the comfort of their own home and anywhere else as a less expensive and easily accessible

route to healing. This has become very convenient, especially in the past two years due to the

covid-19 pandemic. Many things that used to be in person have turned virtual to keep people

from close contact with others in order to prevent the spread of corona. It's Inexpensive because

therapy is not needed to know how to write your feelings on a piece of paper.

Emotional writing is said to cause immediate decrease in positive moods, distress, and

negative physical symptoms. However, it is shown to be valuable in the long run with long-term

effects of better health outcomes. For example, some of the health outcomes are less stress

related doctor visits, fewer depressive symptoms before examinations, and improved liver and

lung function (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2018). These outcomes warrant for longer living.

Not only does emotional writing improve health outcomes but it also improves social and

behavioral outcomes. For example, higher grade point averages from students, improved

working memory, also improved social and linguistic behaviors (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2018).

These outcomes are beneficial for college students who may be struggling with school due to

built up trauma on top of daily stress. It's also the easiest way for healing since their days are

filled with attending classes and completing assignments.

Expressive writing isn't very useful if only conducted one time. Studies show that it's

most effective when people write about the most traumatic times in their lives and how they felt

about it for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time, over three to four continuous writing sessions
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How is writing therapeutic?

(Baikie & Wilhelm, 2018). As opposed to writing about what one's day will consist of with no

opinion and emotion involved.

According to Kendra Cherry a catharsis is an emotional release. This goes directly hand

and hand with what expressive writing is. Releasing your emotions on a paper is emotional

writing. The term catharsis comes from the Greek katharsis meaning "purification" or

"cleansing." The term is used in therapy as well as in literature. A hero in a novel may

experience an emotional catharsis that may lead to some kind of renewal. The purpose of

catharsis is to bring about some form of positive change in the individual's life like examples

previously mentioned (Cherry, 2021).

Courier Journal states that people who have stress and trauma that is caused by racial

issues typically have similar experiences to people who have PTSD (Kleinman & Russ, 2020).

For example, patients that experience ptsd from systematic racism Like african american rappers

and songwriters. These artists not only expressively write but they put their writing in songs for

others to relate and enjoy.

Disclosure writing therapy seems to be effective because it is a way of getting something

off your chest instead of talking about the traumatic experience aloud (Mugerwa & Holden,

2012). It also gives the writer the opportunity to process and find the meaning in their traumatic

experiences so that they can better understand their feelings associated with the event and gain

control over them. By writing about specific problem areas, the patient becomes an expert on

their feelings, this challenges the boundaries between what White and Epston (1990) call `expert

knowledge’ and `local knowledge’. This is especially significant when the client’s social status is

naturally subject to oppression and discrimination(wright & Cheung Cheung, 2010).

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How is writing therapeutic?

It is important to keep in mind that exploring difficult emotions can sometimes come with

risks, particularly if these emotions are rooted in trauma or abuse. Some researchers also believe

that while catharsis can relieve tension in the short term, it might also serve to reinforce negative

behaviors and increase the risk of emotional outbursts further down the line (Cherry, 2021).

In conclusion, writing therapy should be a first resort as a healing method for all humans

dealing with trauma. Not only does it help patients deal with the emotions attached to the trauma

but it also helps with health effects. It is also easy to access for many lifestyles and for all

economic classes. If many people start to use this method of healing, medical issues and the

number of doctors visits in the world would decrease significantly and humans would have better

lives.
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References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Trauma and shock. American Psychological

Association. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/topics/trauma.

Baikie, K. A., & Wilhelm, K. (2018, January 2). Emotional and physical health benefits of

expressive writing: Advances in psychiatric treatment. Retrieved December 7, 2021,

from

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-psychiatric-treatment/article/emot

ional-and-physical-health-benefits-of-expressive-writing/ED2976A61F5DE56B46F07A

1CE9EA9F9F.

Cassoobhoy, A. (2020, November 4). Ways to get past a traumatic experience. WebMD.

Retrieved December 7, 2021, from

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/ss/slideshow-emotional-trauma-self-care.

Cherry, K. (2021, May 24). How catharsis can bring about great insight and positive

change. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-catharsis-2794968.

Kleinman, B., & Russ, E. (Eds.). (2020, June 12). Systemic racism can leave black people

suffering from symptoms similar to PTSD. Journal. Retrieved December 11, 2021, from

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2020/06/12/racial-trauma-can-leave-blac

k-people-ptsd-symptoms/3160232001/.

Mugerwa, S., & Holden, J. D. (2012, December 1). Writing therapy: A new tool for general

practice? Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://bjgp.org/content/62/605/661.full.

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Wright, Jeannie, & Cheung Cheung, man. (2010, June 17). Mastery or mystery?

therapeutic writing: A review of the ...Retrieved December 7, 2021, from

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeannie-Wright/publication/235800351_Mastery_or

_mystery_Therapeutic_writing_A_review_of_the_literature/links/578357b408ae5f367d

3b755d/Mastery-or-mystery-Therapeutic-writing-A-review-of-the-literature.pdf.