Healing Power of Writing

Putting pen to paper can help you lose weight, reduce stress and take control of your health
After suffering from PMS for over a decade, Debra Van Wert, 44, of New York, started recording her symptoms. Three months later, she saw a pattern. “Writing helped me anticipate hormonal phases and identify which weeks I felt my best and worst,” says Van Wert. Today, she’s in better control of her condition.
She had the right idea. Researchers are discovering that keeping a journal can reduce pain, help with weight loss, even ease serious stress. “Writing may produce changes in immune or hormonal responses to stress, and improve relationships and our capa- city to cope with stress,” says Joshua M. Smyth, an American psychologist. He found that writing about a traumatic experience eased pain in rheumatoid arthritis patients and boosted lung function in asthmatics. Other research has found the following benefits of writing:
Lose weight Keeping a detailed food diary has been shown to help people drop kilos. In one study it was the strongest predictor of weight loss. Researchers with America’s Women’s Health Initiative found that food diaries help create awareness about calorie consumption and fat intake. And when you know how much you’re eating, it’s easier to make changes.
Improve sleep At an American university, women who wrote about traumatic experiences like rape or a serious car accident reported fewer headaches, sleep problems and depressive symptoms than those who didn’t.
Fight illness In a 2002 study at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University, people who wrote about a stressful event made fewer visits to health clinics over the next 15 months.
Slash stress In a study at Chicago Medical School, when cancer patients who lacked family support wrote about their illness for 20 minutes a day, they reported less stress for up to six months.