Many years ago I discovered the expressive writing work of James W Pennebaker, a social psychologist from the University of Texas. I am pretty sure it was through his widely read 1997 paper – Writing About Emotional Experiences as a Therapeutic Process.
Pennebaker and others have run many studies showing that simple writing exercises can provide individuals with significant health and mental health benefits. These include: reduced doctor visits, lower blood pressure, improved lung function, improved liver function, reduced days in hospital, improved immune system functioning, higher GPA (in students), reduced absenteeism, increased re-employment, improved working memory, improved sporting performance, improved social relations, reduced self-reported physical symptoms, reduced self-reported days out of work, improved mood/ affect/ psychological wellbeing, reduced depression symptoms, and reduced PTSD symptoms.
A typical ‘Pennebaker’ writing exercise involves writing about a traumatic or emotional experience for 3-5 sessions over consecutive days or weeks, 15-20 minutes per session. The individual is then free to share, destroy or keep their writing.
People often reveal a considerable range and depth of trauma when given this writing prompt. Events or experiences that they may never have spoken or written about before get put on the page.
Over consecutive writing episodes, how a person writes about the event tends to shift. They might get more descriptive, use different feeling words, show their attempts to understand the event or develop insights into what happened.
The writing itself is commonly experienced as mildly distressing and it is common for individuals to report a short-term increase in distress and negative mood and a short-term decrease in positive mood. However they also typically report the experience as being very personal, meaningful and valuable. They commonly report a positive attitude towards the process despite the distress. It is in the weeks and months following the writing exercise that the positive impacts reveal themselves.
Interestingly, in the years subsequent to Pennebaker’s work, other researchers have found that writing exercises that focus on positive experiences can also elicit similar health benefits. This means writing exercises are available that don’t require you to focus on unpleasant or traumatic events.
Exactly how these writing exercises work remains an area of research interest. Explanations considered include: opportunity to vent, exposing self to previously avoided content, learning how to regulate emotions, and improved social relations (e.g. likelihood of sharing experience with someone close). The most coherent theory is that these exercises help people develop coherent narratives about important events in their lives which gives them insight, helps them make sense of difficult experiences and integrate the memories better into their everyday life.
With these findings in mind, I present below 4 writing exercises that have been tested in studies with university students. Exercise 1 is the standard Pennebaker writing exercise, focusing on writing about traumatic experiences. Exercises 2-4 look at variations that involve writing about positive experiences, positive aspects of experience or future desired experiences.
Whilst not a substitute for counselling or therapy, the exercises are very simple to implement and have reliable (albeit small) positive effects for those wanting to make improvements to their health and wellbeing.
Disclaimer: Studies of these writing exercises have demonstrated benefits for people of different ages, genders, experiences and health conditions. However there are some groups for whom these writing exercises have either had no benefit or been mildly negative. If you are in one of these groups, I recommend proceeding with caution and maybe working with a mental health professional first before attempting these exercises. If you are to use these exercises, focus on Exercises 2 and 3 which don’t require you to use traumatic events in your history – eating disorders/ body image concerns, children of alcoholics, caregivers of children with chronic illness, students with suicidal ideation, those in a state of bereavement, adult survivors of childhood abuse and Vietnam veterans.
Exercise 1
This is the Pennebaker writing exercise, taken directly from his website – https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psychology/faculty/pennebak#writing-health. That page is worth visiting because it also includes links to a range of good books on the topic of writing for health and wellbeing.
Writing about emotional upheavals in our lives can improve physical and mental health. Although the scientific research surrounding the value of expressive writing is still in the early phases, there are some approaches to writing that have been found to be helpful. Keep in mind that there are probably a thousand ways to write that may be beneficial to you. Think of these as rough guidelines rather than Truth. Indeed, in your own writing, experiment on your own and see what works best.
Getting Ready to Write
- Find a time and place where you won’t be disturbed. Ideally, pick a time at the end of your workday or before you go to bed.
- Promise yourself that you will write for a minimum of 15 minutes a day for at least 3 or 4 consecutive days.
- Once you begin writing, write continuously. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. If you run out of things to write about, just repeat what you have already written.
- You can write longhand or you can type on a computer. If you are unable to write, you can also talk into a tape recorder.
- You can write about the same thing on all 3-4 days of writing or you can write about something different each day. It is entirely up to you.
What to Write About
– Something that you are thinking or worrying about too much
– Something that you are dreaming about
– Something that you feel is affecting your life in an unhealthy way
– Something that you have been avoiding for days, weeks, or yearsIn our research, we generally give people the following instructions for writing:
Over the next four days, I want you to write about your deepest emotions and thoughts about the most upsetting experience in your life. Really let go and explore your feelings and thoughts about it. In your writing, you might tie this experience to your childhood, your relationship with your parents, people you have loved or love now, or even your career. How is this experience related to who you would like to become, who you have been in the past, or who you are now?Many people have not had a single traumatic experience but all of us have had major conflicts or stressors in our lives and you can write about them as well. You can write about the same issue every day or a series of different issues. Whatever you choose to write about, however, it is critical that you really let go and explore your very deepest emotions and thoughts.
Warning: Many people report that after writing, they sometimes feel somewhat sad or depressed. Like seeing a sad movie, this typically goes away in a couple of hours. If you find that you are getting extremely upset about a writing topic, simply stop writing or change topics.
What to do with your Writing Samples
The writing is for you and for you only. Their purpose is for you to be completely honest with yourself. When writing, secretly plan to throw away your writing when you are finished. Whether you keep it or save it is really up to you.
Some people keep their samples and edit them. That is, they gradually change their writing from day to day. Others simply keep them and return to them over and over again to see how they have changed.
Here are some other options:
Burn them. Erase them. Shred them. Flush them. Tear them into little pieces and toss them into the ocean or let the wind take them away. Eat them (not recommended).
Exercise 2
This exercise is taken from a study by King, 2001.
King sought to extend Pennebaker’s work by seeing if health benefits could be obtained by getting people to write about their ‘best possible future self’.
Turns out it can. University students who completed this exercise showed reduced health centre visits in the 5-months after writing. They also reported the exercise as enhancing their wellbeing in the short-term compared to the standard Pennebaker exercise which tends to reduce wellbeing in the short-term.
The main bit of the exercise is reproduced below under ‘what to write about’. The other instructions are taken from the Pennebaker exercise above.
Getting Ready to Write
- Find a time and place where you won’t be disturbed. Ideally, pick a time at the end of your workday or before you go to bed.
- Promise yourself that you will write for a minimum of 20 minutes a day for at least 4 consecutive days.
- Once you begin writing, write continuously. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. If you run out of things to write about, just repeat what you have already written.
- You can write longhand or you can type on a computer. If you are unable to write, you can also talk into a tape recorder.
- You can write about the same thing on all 3-4 days of writing or you can write about something different each day. It is entirely up to you.
What to write about
Think about your life in the future. Imagine that everything has gone as well as it possibly could. You have worked hard and succeeded at accomplishing all of your life goals. Think of this as the realization of all of your life dreams. Now, write about what you imagined.
What to do with your Writing Samples
The writing is for you and for you only. Their purpose is for you to be completely honest with yourself. When writing, secretly plan to throw away your writing when you are finished. Whether you keep it or save it is really up to you.
Some people keep their samples and edit them. That is, they gradually change their writing from day to day. Others simply keep them and return to them over and over again to see how they have changed.
Here are some other options:
Burn them. Erase them. Shred them. Flush them. Tear them into little pieces and toss them into the ocean or let the wind take them away. Eat them (not recommended).
Exercise 3
This exercise is taken from a study by Burton & King, 2004.
Similar to Exercise 2, Burton and King wanted to extend Pennebaker’s work to see if health benefits could be obtained by getting people to write about intensely positive experiences, not just the negative experiences in Exercise 1.
Again, turns out it can. University students who completed this exercise showed reduced health centre visits in the 3-months after writing. They also reported the exercise as enhancing their wellbeing in the short-term compared to the standard Pennebaker exercise which tends to reduce wellbeing in the short-term.
The main bit of the exercise is reproduced below under ‘what to write about’. The other instructions are taken from the Pennebaker exercise above.
Getting Ready to Write
- Find a time and place where you won’t be disturbed. Ideally, pick a time at the end of your workday or before you go to bed.
- Promise yourself that you will write for a minimum of 20 minutes a day for at least 3 consecutive days.
- Once you begin writing, write continuously. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. If you run out of things to write about, just repeat what you have already written.
- You can write longhand or you can type on a computer. If you are unable to write, you can also talk into a tape recorder.
- You can write about the same thing on all 3-4 days of writing or you can write about something different each day. It is entirely up to you.
What to write about
Think of the most wonderful experience or experiences in your life, happiest moments, ecstatic moments, moments of rapture, perhaps from being in love, or from listening to music, or suddenly ‘‘being hit’’ by a book or painting or from some great creative moment. Choose one such experience or moment. Try to imagine yourself at that moment, including all the feelings and emotions associated with the experience. Now write about the experience in as much detail as possible trying to include the feelings, thoughts, and emotions that were present at the time. Please try your best to re-experience the emotions involved.
What to do with your Writing Samples
The writing is for you and for you only. Their purpose is for you to be completely honest with yourself. When writing, secretly plan to throw away your writing when you are finished. Whether you keep it or save it is really up to you.
Some people keep their samples and edit them. That is, they gradually change their writing from day to day. Others simply keep them and return to them over and over again to see how they have changed.
Here are some other options:
Burn them. Erase them. Shred them. Flush them. Tear them into little pieces and toss them into the ocean or let the wind take them away. Eat them (not recommended).
Exercise 4
Ok, this final exercise is taken from a study by King and Miner, 2000 (are you getting the feeling King might be an important figure in this work?).
In this study, King and Miner focused on traumatic events (like Exercise 1) but instead asked participants to write specifically about the positive aspects of the experience. They were curious if you could get the same positive health benefits of writing about trauma but in a less upsetting way.
Turns out you can. University students who completed this exercise showed reduced health centre visits in the 3-months after writing, similar to the original Pennebaker exercise. The authors concluded it may be possible to get the same expressive writing benefits without forcing individuals to confront the pain of trauma.
Getting Ready to Write
- Find a time and place where you won’t be disturbed. Ideally, pick a time at the end of your workday or before you go to bed.
- Promise yourself that you will write for a minimum of 20 minutes a day for at least 3 consecutive days.
- Once you begin writing, write continuously. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. If you run out of things to write about, just repeat what you have already written.
- You can write longhand or you can type on a computer. If you are unable to write, you can also talk into a tape recorder.
- You can write about the same thing on all 3-4 days of writing or you can write about something different each day. It is entirely up to you.
What to write about
Please recall a traumatic life event or some loss you have experienced in your life. Think about the experience for a few moments. Now, focus on the positive aspects of the experience. Please write about how you have changed or grown as a person as a result of the experience. Focus on the positive aspects and how the experience has benefited you as a person—how has the experience made you better able to meet the challenges of the future? As you write, do not worry about punctuation or grammar, just really let go and write as much as you can about the positive aspects of the experience.
What to do with your Writing Samples
The writing is for you and for you only. Their purpose is for you to be completely honest with yourself. When writing, secretly plan to throw away your writing when you are finished. Whether you keep it or save it is really up to you.
Some people keep their samples and edit them. That is, they gradually change their writing from day to day. Others simply keep them and return to them over and over again to see how they have changed.
Here are some other options:
Burn them. Erase them. Shred them. Flush them. Tear them into little pieces and toss them into the ocean or let the wind take them away. Eat them (not recommended).
I want to learn more!
Give Pennebaker’s book a go.
Also feel free to Google his work online. You’ll find lots of references to his and other people’s studies on the topic.