It appears as if traumatic events in our lives, if not processed in some way, go on to cause us harm. Events such as serious illness, violence, divorce, keeping a damaging secret, and even changing home can increase our stress hormones, in particular cortisone, leading to us developing other unwanted symptoms such as an inhibited immune system, poor sleep patterns, and an increased chance of illness and depression. Taking time to write about what you are feeling in regard to these traumas in your life can help the mind to deal with them once and for all and improve your overall health.
A study published in Scientific American in October 2013 looked at the effect of expressive writing in the healing of wounds in older people. Forty-nine participants between the ages of 64-97 years were asked to write for 20 minutes a day for three consecutive days about an upsetting event in their life or to write about their daily activities. The control group did not write. Two weeks after the writing, all the study participants had a biopsy on their arm. By the 11th day, 76% of the participants that wrote before the biopsy were healed, as compared to 42% in the control group of non-writers. In another study looking at the social effects of expressive writing, a group of recently retrenched engineers participated in a study. The study group wrote about their feelings regarding losing their jobs, the control group did not write anything. After eight months, less than 19% of the non-writers had found new jobs, while 52% of the writers had found employment.
