Prescription #4 of “Some Prescriptions For Productive Goals” is : Explore whether or not increasing certain types of writing behavior may be helpful for you. The reader may recall in a previous Hygiology Post Article, Healthy Change : Part Four, released August 8, 2011 the content included : In another recent article by Pennebaker and Chung (in Pennebaker, J. W., & Chung, C. K. [in press], “Expressive Writing and Its Links to Mental and Physical Health.” In H. S. Friedman [Ed.], Oxford Handbook of Health Psychology New York, NY: Oxford University Press.)…On page 23 they wrote : “Writing forces people to stop and reevaluate their life circumstance…emotions and emotional experiences are translated into words. This analog to digital process demands a different representation of the events in the brain, in memory, and in the ways people think on a daily basis…these cognitive changes have the potential for people to come to a different understanding of their circumstances. The cognitive changes themselves now allow the individuals to begin to think about and use their social worlds differently.”
On the web site at https://pennebaker.socialpsychology.org, the “Overview” tab showed : “James W. Pennebaker is Professor and Chair of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He and his students are exploring the links between emotional experiences, natural language, and physical and mental health. His most recent research focuses on how everyday language reflects basic social and personality processes. Author or editor of 9 books and over 250 articles, Pennebaker has received numerous awards and honors.” The most recent book that he has written per the web site is titled “Writing to Heal : A Guided Journey For Recovering From Trauma and Emotional Upheaval” published in 2004 by New Harbinger Press in Oakland, California. The current author was able to read online several journal articles he wrote and obtain some books he authored including the aforementioned one through interlibrary loan.
Perhaps you are someone who writes very little or already writes quite a bit personally or professionally. You may choose to increase the breadth and depth of your writing into areas such as; to aid in Voting Behavior (e.g., via “The Voter Scorecard”; see Healthy Change : Part Five — Some Prescriptions For Productive Goals, #1); creative endeavors like poetry, novels, or lyrics; essays (e.g., to help solve problems); and/or keeping a private journal.
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Louis DeCola, Jr. © 2011 The Hygiology Post