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What is the benefit of expressive writing?
Researchers have found that people who practice expressive writing — that is, writing to help make sense of your thoughts and emotions — can experience mental and emotional benefits, including a reduction in stress, anxiety and depression and greater clarity and focus. They may even experience physical benefits. Research shows that expressing your emotions through writing—a practice called “expressive writing”—can lead to emotional and even physical relief in the long run. Journaling about your feelings is linked to decreased mental distress. In a study, researchers found that those with various medical conditions and anxiety who wrote online for 15 minutes three days a week over a 12-week period had increased feelings of well-being and fewer depressive symptoms after one month. It’s simply writing down your thoughts and feelings to understand them more clearly. And if you struggle with stress, depression, or anxiety, keeping a journal can be a great idea. It can help you gain control of your emotions and improve your mental health.
What is the purpose of an expressive text?
Expressive text refers to written language forms such as narrative, poetry and metaphor that can be used as tools in research to vividly represent the meaning and feeling conveyed in an experience. Researchers have found that people who practice expressive writing — that is, writing to help make sense of your thoughts and emotions — can experience mental and emotional benefits, including a reduction in stress, anxiety and depression and greater clarity and focus. They may even experience physical benefits. James Pennebaker was the first researcher that studied therapeutic effects of writing. He developed a method called expressive writing, which consists of putting feelings and thoughts into written words in order to cope with traumatic events or situations that yield distress (Pennebaker & Chung, 2007). Those who journal boast improved immune system functioning (it strengthens immune cells!) as well as lessened symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Expressive writing has been shown to improve liver and lung function and combat certain diseases; it has even been reported to help the wounded heal faster.
What is expressive writing in education?
Expressive writing is writing in which the writer is her/his own audience. It need be evaluated by no one other than the writer. Transactional writing, in comparison, is the communication of previous learning performed for others. Expressive writing is not creative writing; it is the thought process made visible. Expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; and bring us greater focus and clarity. These effects of writing as a tool for healing are well documented. Believe it or not, expressive writing can strengthen your immunity and decrease your risk of illness. Those who journal boast improved immune system functioning (it strengthens immune cells!) as well as lessened symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Writing in physical education can enhance student performance in at least four ways: (1) writing to learn, which stimulates the gathering and organizing of ideas; (2) writing to motivate, which stimulates a sense of adventure, curiosity, and creativity; (3) writing to assess, which allows both teacher and student to …
How can expressive writing impact health?
Expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; and bring us greater focus and clarity. These effects of writing as a tool for healing are well documented. Writing about traumatic, stressful or emotional events has been found to result in improvements in both physical and psychological health, in non-clinical and clinical populations. Almost half of young people (46%) said writing down their thoughts and feelings helped them feel better about something that had made them feel sad. Young people also said writing made them feel calmer (47%) and helped them to articulate their thoughts and feelings (37%). The physical act of writing sends signals from your hands to your brain and builds your motor skills. The mental effort and time taken to write also helps in improving memory.
What are elements of expressive writing?
The three basic steps of expressive writing – prewriting, composing, and revising – have to be taught explicitly. Types of expressive writing include personal journals, essays, memoirs, songs, poetry, and opinion pieces. Expressive writing is done in the first person and gives the writer, as well as those who are reading whatever form the expression takes, insight into that person. Written expression is a crucial part of communication and critical thinking. For a secondary school student, developing strong writing skills not only helps your school grades, but also prepares you for your academic and professional future. The expressive purpose is used to communicate, or express, the personal feelings or thoughts of the writer. This kind of writing is concerned primarily with the writer as an individual. Much expressive writing could be termed anecdote. The most popular are to inform, to entertain, to explain, or to persuade. However, there are many more including to express feelings, explore an idea, evaluate, mediate, problem solve, or argue for or against an idea. Writers often combine purposes in a single piece of writing.
How does expressive writing help with stress?
1. A study by APA showed that writing can help to relieve stress by combatting negative and intrusive thoughts. The study explains that writing about negative experiences can help you to overcome them and that, by putting your experience into perspective, you are able to concentrate on the positive as a result. Journaling can support coping and reduce the impact of stressful events – potentially avoiding burnout and chronic anxiety. Studies link writing privately about stressful events and capturing thoughts and emotions on paper with decreased mental distress. Journaling: Write about your thoughts without censoring them, even if they’re unpleasant. Sometimes just putting those thoughts down can help you work through them. This is a form of expressive writing, where you’re focusing on emotions and experiences, not punctuation and grammar. One common physical benefit of writing we all know is the development of our arm muscles in which the more one writes, the stronger one becomes in being able to withstand the pain of writing for more than an hour. Academic and creative writing are both beneficial towards our mental and physical health. BENEFITS OF EXPRESSING EMOTIONS Improves the ability to connect with self and others leading to healthier and happier relationships. Improves decision making and ability to solve problems. Increases resilience. Reduces stress.
What are 3 benefits of writing?
It has been demonstrated, across a variety of investigations, that writing activities yield a number of intellectual, physiological, and emotional benefits to individuals. These bene- fits include improve memory function, decreased symptomatology, and greater feelings of happiness. A study by APA showed that writing can help to relieve stress by combatting negative and intrusive thoughts. The study explains that writing about negative experiences can help you to overcome them and that, by putting your experience into perspective, you are able to concentrate on the positive as a result. Whether you use a computer or good old pen and paper, writing has its elements of being both a physical and mental process. They show great empathy. Writers with emotional intelligence understand what makes other people tick and hold great respect for them. Their ability to put themselves in the shoes of others makes them exquisitely sensitive to the needs of their readers. Emotion also helps readers gain understanding and perspective from different viewpoints, as well as providing an opportunity for them to escape from the ‘real world’ for a while. There are three types of emotion in writing: Emotion experienced by you, the writer. Emotion experienced by the character. Journaling: Write about your thoughts without censoring them, even if they’re unpleasant. Sometimes just putting those thoughts down can help you work through them. This is a form of expressive writing, where you’re focusing on emotions and experiences, not punctuation and grammar.