To be a writer is to find healing in writing our sorrows. To be a writer is to know that writing releases our quietest burdens and internal pressures. Because of sorrows and burdens, we have scars that no one can see, but only we can feel. Writing loosens the weight of our burdens. And our scars are splendid because they create a story. 

After reading Expressive Writing, Emotional Upheavals, and Health by James W. Pennebaker and Cindy K. Chung, these were my initial thoughts. I’ve always felt that writing was emotionally healing because of my own experience. After reading the article, I now understand more about the physical effects of expressive writing. One of the studies in the article consisted of having a group of people with elevated blood pressure write about their trauma for a few months. The authors mention, “One month after writing, those who participated in the emotional disclosure condition exhibited lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) than before writing. Four months after writing, DBP remained lower than baseline levels.“

I have reflected upon this physical study the authors have made and I’m captivated by how expressive writing can reduce systolic blood pressure, in some way cortisol, and induce a congruent state of calmness. One key factor the authors highlight  is: “It is possible that confronting a traumatic or distressing experience led to reactions aimed for in exposure-based treatments.” Pennebaker and Chung suggest one way to treat trauma is by exposure-based methods in order to channel it instead of internalizing it. As they mention, people and students who wrote about their emotional upheavals showed improvements and positive behavioral changes. Furthermore, these individuals achieved positive outcomes even after recently experiencing a negative circumstance in their lives. 

The principal idea of the article is that unprocessed traumatic experiences induce decline in physical health and weaken psychological well-being. The authors’ depth in all the studies conducted shows that expressive writing is a way to channel trauma, leading to a healing process and improvement. One of the most striking ideas in this article is the importance of naming and labeling traumatic experiences. Many people are in denial and don’t know how to manage emotional trauma. They choose to silence their pain and it consumes them. As a result, many individuals have health issues because the emotional burden disrupts their physical well-being. This made me think about the relevance of therapists, mental-health mentors, and, in general mentors who find methods for people to assimilate their trauma. And if you think about it, all of these professionals use writing in some way to help individuals accept that there’s an internal trauma –and that it’s okay to name it as it is because there are hundreds of people who go through it too.

I feel I have a story for everything, but I just can’t help but see a correlation in my life with the articles I’ve read. In this article, the authors mention,  “Not talking about a traumatic experience is also associated with a breakdown of one’s social network, a decrease in working memory, sleep disruptions, alcohol and drug abuse, and an increased risk for additional 38 traumatic experiences. Expressive writing or the unfettered talking about a trauma can often short circuit this process. “ This quote spoke to me because it reminded me of the anxiety crisis I had three years ago. I had insomnia, felt extremely anxious, but for the first time in my life had therapy. One of the best methods for me to overcome this anxiety episode with the help of a therapist was writing and reframing my thoughts. I actually named that process: reframing my brain sequence. The therapist recognized that I had internalized emotional issues for so long that my body and mind had a crash-out. She was right. I am a person who, instead of venting out internal upheavals, I absorb them. Especially at that time, I felt that I didn’t want to be a burden for anybody, so I didn’t ask for help, until my body and mind burnt out. I wasn’t producing melatonin because my cortisol level was too high and my nervous system was unstable. But I was able to get my body and mind back to a normal state.

I share this because through that experience, for the first time in my life, I didn’t choose to internalize trauma anymore. The authors mention, “Narrating an emotional event into the bigger picture might help to integrate the experience into one’s greater knowledge structures and personal identity.” Now I look at that negative experience as a stepping stone that helped me structure my identity,  revealing strength I didn’t even know I had. Writing poems about my internal issues allowed me to find a firm version of myself. 

Now I understand better why authors write memoirs. Writing their experiences developed identity formation. One of the best examples is Anne Frank’s “Diary of a young girl” which we have clear conclusions from her memoir. 1. Expressive writing as emotional processing 2. Psychological resilience and 3. Shaping identity. Anne Frank documented her traumatic experience as a way to vent out her desperation, threat, and isolation. Making her memoir a remarkable document that, to this day, has great relevance in literature. Her writing allowed her to process emotions that otherwise would have remained unspoken. Through her writing, Anne Frank maintained hope, identity, and perseverance. And that is the beauty of writing. Writing is the painting of someone’s voice. Writing can help someone endure and make meaning from trauma and emotional upheavals. 

My ending thought on Pennebaker and Chung is the following quote: “Writing is medicine. It’s an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion to any difficult change.” – Julia Cameron. To me, this means writing is the place where our wounds learn to speak, and our souls begin to heal.