Express yourself! It's good for you

[guitarist]

"Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not..."

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-healthy-type

[AlphaDog]

Huh. I started making daily entries in a personal journal back in 1993 and have done it almost religiously ever since. Sometimes the entries are very fact oriented, and sometimes I use the entries as a way to "process" things happening in my life or the lives of people around me.

So I wonder why I was diagnosed with an immune system disorder in 2001? I've been ripped off!!

Being more serious, I think writing did, and continues to, help me cope with the illness and death of my husband and then in forging a new life as a single person. Having those entries also allows me to go back and see where I was at, emotionally and physically, at various times in the past. (No wonder there's a perception memory improves - people who keep journals can cheat!)

[kap]

Um, someone is gonna get arrested!

Jokes aside, I must agree that even when talking is viable writing remains a better option. I am not a good writer. It takes me sometime to finish a two page essay. Still, the writing process alone helps.