Scientists at the University of California have discovered that the act of writing poetry has a soothing psychological effect. The very action of composing verse is said to help the brain regulate emotion as well as decrease the feelings of fear, nervousness and sadness. This is due to the it inhibition of parts of the brain linked to emotional turmoil, and increases activity in the region to do with self-control.
Dr Matthew Lieberman of the above mentioned university stated:
“It seems to regulate our distress. I don’t think that people sit down in order to regulate their emotions but there is a benefit,”
Lieberman and his colleagues studied the brains of 30 individuals whilst they were in the process of describing distressing situations. He found that the act of writing poetry tended to reduce activity in the amygdala, a part of the brain connected with emotion and fear and increased activity in the pre-frontal cortex, the mind’s regulator.
This points to an already widely accepted view that by writing down their emotions, people can decrease the reaction to negative feelings and thoughts.
“If you ask people then they don’t think that it serves an emotion regulation but when you look at the brain that looks like what is going on,” he added. “The more frontal activity we see, the less amydala response. There seems to be a see-saw affect…”
Apparently it matters little the skill level of the writer and is even more effective when the poem is kept as simple as possible. Bringing in too much emotional baggage into a piece of writing can cancel out the positive effects.
“I think it could play a role in why many people write diaries or write bad lyrics to songs – the kind that should never be played on the radio.”
It’s hoped after further research and testing that it can somehow be implemented in new special therapies in order to help ease social fears and phobias in patients.
The study and the resulting data were presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in a lecture entitled Putting Feelings Into Words (Link is to a pdf document).
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
wow
This actually makes a great deal of sense to me. Personally, when I write poetry without even thinking about word choice or whether it “flows” … it’s almost like a therapy session that only costs as much as the paper I’m writing on. Just as effective as a good cry in getting all my emotions out of my head.
… Not to mention you can look back at poetry you’ve written and comment to yourself on how far you’ve come with whatever emotional issues your dealing with in life. Kinda cool, actually.
Thanks for linking to the article’s original website.
Explains what I’ve experienced at a couple writing workshops, then. Thanks for this!
For me, this much is certain. Whenever drama drapes me into a place where I am depleted, angry or scared, the act of putting a poem onto paper changes my mood. It allows words to go wherever they want, no constraints or directions. The end result makes no difference. I didn’t know about all the brain chemistry, but it affirms my sense of being better off by simply picking up that pen. Thank you.
I started writing poetry several years back, after i got divorced, it totally helps my depression. I am able to go into the*zone* when i write and let all my feelings and emotions out in my writing. It has been very helpful to me. Thank you for this.
Thanks
Great post. For me, writing in general–whether it be fiction or poetry regardless of emotional leaning–has a tremendously soothing effect on me. It’s the act of writing, painting, or expressively creating something artistically that does it. Though I’m more of a fiction writer than poet, I often write poetic prose (though it’s sometimes sickeningly horrific haha). Here’s to expressive writing!