Talk Therapy
A recent article on “expressive writing” in PSYCHOLOGY TODAY states:
“One proven coping mechanism is journaling. A significant body of evidence demonstrates that recording thoughts and feelings on a regular basis helps people identify and process negative emotions, and ultimately alleviate anxiety.”
The article includes the following supportive evidence:
Researchers at the University of Minnesota, looking at interventions that helped improve the mental health and social-emotional functioning of youth affected by war, found that “opportunities for creative expression such as writing or drawing enabled them to process their trauma and develop social-emotional skills.”
A study of older adults with ongoing medical conditions and anxiety found “journaling helped to decrease their mental stress load and increase their overall well-being.”
A study of undergraduate nursing students found that “students who kept journals about their clinical experience had less anxiety about caring for patients.”
Australian researchers who reviewed substantial evidence on the practice of “expressive writing,” described it as a “powerful” tool that “carried a health benefit similar to other psychological interventions, such as talk therapy.”
Prayer writing, an expressive writing practice, is a tell-all, talking-things-over-with-God, asking-for-His-help therapy — one that can be written with words on the pages of a journal or in symbolic fashion on an egg!
Read the complete article online at Psychology Today and sign up to participate in a journaling project — Telling Our Stories: In The Age of COVID-19.
Copyright © 2020 Nancy Kopack.
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