Studies, led by James W. Pennebaker, show that experiential emotional writing enhance one’s physical and mental health improvement. It is believed that changes in basic conceptual and linguistic process during writing give better physical health, subjective well-being, and selected adaptive behaviors when people are confronting deeply personal issues (Pennebaker, 1997). Participants of this research are from many groups of people, different ages and occupations. They disclose their personal dark past, and a large number of them are deeply upset by the incidents, but this writing assignment was valuable and meaningful in their lives.
They are signed to write for 15 to 30 minutes in 3 to 5 consecutive days about an extremely important emotional issue that has affected them and their life, …show more content…
The basic writing paradigm shows that there are a drop on number of physician visits, and its benefits for immune function. Through self-disclosure, the research give the results of “short-term changes in autonomic activity (e.g. lowered heart rate and electrodermal activity) and muscular activity (i.e. reduced phasic corrugator activity) (Pennebaker, 1997). In addition, according to Smyth’s (1996) meta-analysis expressive writing reduces distress. Psychologically, “writing about upsetting experiences produces long-term improvements in mood and indicators of well-being” (Pennebaker, 1997). Behavioral changes have been found that “students who write experimental topics show improvements in grades in the months following the study” (Pennebaker, 1997), senior professionals who were laid off find new jobs more quickly after writing, and university staff members are less absent from their work, parallel to their physical health
They are signed to write for 15 to 30 minutes in 3 to 5 consecutive days about an extremely important emotional issue that has affected them and their life, …show more content…
The basic writing paradigm shows that there are a drop on number of physician visits, and its benefits for immune function. Through self-disclosure, the research give the results of “short-term changes in autonomic activity (e.g. lowered heart rate and electrodermal activity) and muscular activity (i.e. reduced phasic corrugator activity) (Pennebaker, 1997). In addition, according to Smyth’s (1996) meta-analysis expressive writing reduces distress. Psychologically, “writing about upsetting experiences produces long-term improvements in mood and indicators of well-being” (Pennebaker, 1997). Behavioral changes have been found that “students who write experimental topics show improvements in grades in the months following the study” (Pennebaker, 1997), senior professionals who were laid off find new jobs more quickly after writing, and university staff members are less absent from their work, parallel to their physical health