Can Writing Be Good For Your Health?

Physician and author Silke Heimes seems to think so.

Earlier this month while browsing for topics that were interesting to write about during my #OneBlogADayInOctober challenge, I came across this piece on Scientific American titled "Know Yourself Better by Writing What Pops into Your Head." Based on the headline alone I loved the premise of writing a stream of consciousness, as I have definitely surprised myself at times when keeping diaries or gratitude journals by what ends up on the page.

The article has a really interesting proposition beyond that of getting to know yourself better, as Heimes is cited for claiming that there is "abundant evidence that writing for five to 20 minutes a day can:

• improve health,
• diminish stress,
• increase self-confidence, and even
• kindle the imagination."

Those are a lot of really wonderful benefits considering this is an activity that requires very little physical movement regardless if done with a pen and paper or on a computer/typewriter. And funnily enough - yes, I do have a typewriter so it made sense for me to add it as a potential writing tool. But they do go into detail in the article about how writing by hand does activate more muscles and forces you to slow down, while typing on a computer keyboard is rhythmic and thus it can become soothing, so that was very interesting to note.

I had never thought of writing as a "mental hygiene" routine akin to that of brushing my teeth or taking a shower, but after reading through this piece, it makes a lot of sense that building this habit into my daily activities can have such a positive impact.

What constitutes writing every day can be a little bit abstract in the sense that now since so much of our communication at work and within our families happens over written text, it can be argued that everyone with access to a mobile phone and Wi-Fi probably writes something every day. If we take communication away, I know that I would not be able to say that I write every single day, but I'm pretty close to reaching that goal.

This self-assigned writing challenge has definitely pushed me to hold myself accountable, be creative in browsing topics and adding my own take to whatever subject I share, and it has also added a layer of satisfaction to see my editorial calendar fill up just over two thirds of the way at this point with all the blogs I have crafted.

I have thought about what I will do after October ends in terms of keeping up a daily writing task in my to-do list. Many people tout that it takes 21 days to build a habit (which also has been disproven ). I am currently on day 23 of this challenge, but frankly if I didn't have the accountable factor to keep my promise to LinkedIn, I don't feel like I'd instinctively pick up a pen and paper or my computer tomorrow and just start writing "out of habit."

The piece from Scientific American and my own blog about gratitude do hold some weight for me, and that's what I think will keep me going after this daily blog challenge is done.

For those of you interested in reaping the possible health benefits of writing as outlined by Dr. Heimes, the interview provided some tips that come from her years hosting workshops for people from all walks of life:

• Automatic writing: Setting yourself a short time window (five minutes, for example) in which you're meant to write continuously without thinking, without putting down the pen, or rereading what you wrote.
• Use fill-in journals: Directly answering a question or prompt can be both of help and a hindrance. It's helpful to get you started by giving you a topic to explore, but it can also be limiting your creative drive.
• The half-sentence method: Complete a half-sentence that is provided for you such as "When I woke up this morning.” Everyone who is alive and conscious woke up at some point during the day, so these prompts are as universal and easy to use when needed. Perfect training wheels.

I can personally attest to the benefits of writing when I use it as a neutral ground to dump any emotional distress I feel, and in that sense, I can see where Dr. Heimes is coming from with her list of potential health benefits. Writing emotional things down helps us process and furthers our ability to cope with the matter, potentially getting some relief or even closure by the end of the experience. Of course, this can also go in the opposite direction where something we write triggers a big emotional response, so it's important to be prepared for that as well. The positive in that outcome is that if this exercise prompts a need to speak to a professional, having the thoughts all written down in a linear way can help the therapist pick up on connections between thoughts that can be worked on or reframed.

All in all, I'm glad I came across this piece and I want to come back to this in six months or so to see how big of an impact this approach to mental hygiene has made in my life, especially as someone who writes for a living.