Effects of Writing on Illness Vulnerability
There is mounting evidence that extremely upsetting life events which are not expressed, could lead to related disease processes and a heightened probability to illness.(1) Other research looked at the probability to determine if written expression of feelings could be beneficial to subjects. The reasoning goes that some people might not be willing to express themselves verbally about a traumatic event, like in a traditional group support. If written expression could be effective, a pretty sizable amount of individuals might be able to benefit from this research.(2)
In the Pennebaker study the objective was to identify that writing about traumatic events without social feedback, would prove beneficial by asking the following questions:
1. Which details of expressing a traumatic event lessen physiologic levels and disease rates?
2. Is the release of emotion alone ample enough to help heal?
The method: Randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, 46 volunteers, divided in four groups.
Requirement of the volunteers: write essays on four nights
Group 1, trauma-fact group, narratively described a traumatic event without referring to feelings.
Group 2, trauma-emotion group, described their feelings about the event without writing about the event.
Group 3, trauma-combination group, wrote about the event and their feelings associated with it.
Group 4, control group, wrote about a trivial event, such as describing an article of clothing.
Outcomes:
A: Groups 1, 2, and 3 had short term significant increases in stress response such as increased blood pressure, negative mood states prewriting to postwriting sessions, with these effects consistently decreasing with each writing session. Participants in Group 4 had the least amount of response.
B: Over a period of 6 months reduction in health center visits for illness among people in Groups 2 and 3 (p50.055). Those in Group 1 and 4 experienced similar insignificant changes in health status.
C: Volunteers in Groups 2 and 3 thought a lot more about their topic for months after the study.(p50.05)
D: Volunteers who never discussed the trauma experienced greater short term stress and long term health benefits than those who shared the experience.
Conclusion: In order to achieve optimum health benefits, one needs to express emotion, as well as well cognitively organize (make sense out of it) the event. Here is another important point to consider, volunteers described developing a new coping strategy in dealing with trauma. Only positive thinking, which could be interpreted to mean evading or denying negative emotions, may prove NOT to be the best strategy for health maintenance.
Up Next: A study of Writing and the Mitogen Response
Beste Gesundheit,
Werner
1. Pennebaker J., Hoover C. Inhibition and cognition: Toward an Understanding of Inhibition and Disease. J Abnorm Psychol 95. (1986):274
1. Susman J. The Relationship of Expressiveness Styles and Elements of Traumatic Experience to Self-Reported Illness: Unpublished Master Thesis. University Park. Tex. Southern Methodist University. (1986)
2. Range L., Kovac S., Marion M. Does Writing About Bereavement Lessen grief Following Sudden, Unintentional Death? Death Studies 24 (2). (2000):115