James Pennebaker wrote a book about the power and the limits of expressive writing.
“Expressive writing” is the writing you’re doing when you’re writing about something that has upset you or that bothers you. It’s a mechanism for coping with anything from trauma (at one end of the spectrum) to annoyance (at the other end).
Expressive writing isn’t magical or weird. It’s simply writing about something painful – but really exploring your thoughts and feelings about that pain (or guilt, or shame, or fear, or whatever other negative emotion you feel.) You need to really be honest about what you truly think and feel.
Pennebaker stresses two things:
- This expressive writing might not work for you. You might not actually feel better as a result of doing it. Stop doing it if it isn’t working for you.
- You need to be careful that the expressive writing doesn’t become a substitute for action. Write it down, then move on. Don’t dwell on whatever it is that is causing you pain. Either forget about, or go do something about it.
Good advice.