Once a week my friends and I exchange poetry across our common room. We all take turns reading our weekly written poems on our thoughts and feelings. These poems have more substance than “roses are red, violets are blue…” They are essentially journal entries written in the form of a poem. There is an intent of expression behind everyone’s shared writing. While writing and sharing our pieces we are helping ourselves become happier in a few ways.
A study by a UCLA Psychologist shows that verbalizing our feelings, or writing them out, helps to make the feelings less “intense.” The study uses neuroscience and the Buddhist teaching of mindfulness. The psychologist used a brain scanner to observe changes in the different parts of the brain when pictures of emotions were identified with the name of the emotion versus being identified with just an average name.
The prefrontal region is activated by actively putting feelings into words, this region links personality expression, cognitive behavior and social behavior, to name a few functions. When the prefrontal region is activated it creates a reduced response in the amygdala, which controls emotions and emotional behavior. In simple terms, it reduces the part of the brain that is affected by stress. Mindfulness comes into play when as an individual you live in the moment and examine the “present-moment” emotions.
Another study sought out the long term effects of expressive writing. Long term benefits start at improved immune system functioning and better physical health then stretches into improved mood and feelings of greater psychological well-being. Confronting current and old emotions can reduce the psychological stress from the situation that the feelings originated from.
Writing alone doesn’t make you feel better in the long run; in the moment, yes, but for continuous long term results you need more than that. Engaging in healthy habits, like balanced meals and sleeping enough in addition to writing or expressing your emotions in any way. This expression is your very own mindful behavior, addressing the way you feel rather than ignoring or running away from it, and in the long run, making yourself feel better.
So if you’re feeling stressed take a minute to get yourself together by writing what you feel. If you are feeling brave you could even take it a step further and begin sharing with your friends.
