[OGT] As close to magic as you can get
Two weeks ago, in Writing as Therapy, I wrote about how much I’ve enjoyed and profited from journaling for ten minutes every morning. Continuing that theme, here’s a related article, which summarizes some scientific findings on the surprisingly powerful mental health benefits of this daily practice.
In As close to magic as you can get, Susan Cain describes how in 1986, after discovering the power of journaling for himself, University of Texas social psychologist James Pennebaker embarked on a scientific study of the benefits of journaling, which lasted forty years. The results were astonishing.
In one study, he divided people into two groups. One group was asked to write about their difficulties for 20 minutes a day, for three days; they wrote about sexual abuse, breakups, abandonment by a parent, illness, death. The other group wrote about everyday things, such as what shoes they were wearing.
Pennebaker found that that the people who wrote about their troubles were markedly calmer and happier than those who described their sneakers. Even months later, they were physically healthier, with lower blood pressure and fewer doctor’s visits. They had better relationships and more success at work.
It’s nice to know there is scientific validation supporting what feels intuitively true after doing this for many days: writing isn’t only for recording your thoughts, it’s for processing them. It’s a way of organizing and making sense of the mess we carry around in our heads, which improves our sense of well being. If this was something you could take in a pill, it would be a bestseller, but fortuntely it’s free for everyone. All you have to do is pick up a pencil and some paper.