The Art of Good Enough

The simplest method of self-therapy against these emotions is writing about them on paper. Dr. James W. Pennebaker, chair of the psychology department at the University of Texas, Austin, has conducted much of the research on the health benefits of expressive writing. 4 He discovered writing about emotions may ease stress and trauma. When participants write nonstop while exploring their innermost thoughts and feelings without inhibition, it helps people to organize thoughts and give meaning to a traumatic experience. The process of writing may enable them to regulate their emotions and break free of the endless mental cycling typical of brooding or rumination. When people open up privately about a traumatic event, they are more likely to talk with others about it—and this suggests that writing leads indirectly to reaching out for social support that can aid healing. The next time you find yourself nursing the old wounds, write down your feeling in a notebook. Don’t worry if you can only write words and phrases at first; no one can read it but you. Call it your journal of emotions. Create a habit of describing why you feel that way on paper, and date your entries. After a couple of months, go back and read your earlier writing; you’ll see how far you’ve gone on the path of healing. Unleash your emotional burden on paper so you can live free.