Opening Up by Writing It Down: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain Third Edition

Reading this is like snuggling into a cozy, comfortable room to find out what expressive writing is and is not and how it may be helpful in working through and resolving traumatic experiences in our lives. The book does not lecture or provide guarantees and assurances but offers one potential pathway to feeling better after painful, troubling events in our lives that may be affecting our current or future selves.It is written in a conversational manner as if we are having a conversation with the authors, and is very easy to read. There are explanations about the authors’ experiences in the field as well as the work of others in the field, and it was amazing to realize that these ideas have been in print for more than 30 years, so it is not untested or a “new and improved” hype just to sell books. Writing activities that are suggested throughout the book are offered in an easy-going way and seem achievable and manageable, increasing the possibility that the reader may actually try some of them. It was interesting to read about the distinction between this kind of writing and diaries/journals, and, again, created the image of a manageable addition to the day and to our repertory of self- help knowledge, skills, and activities.It has been amazingly helpful to me in starting to deal with the effects of the covid pandemic and NY lockdowns on my husband and me. Even though the news carried warnings every day ( and still do) about the devastating mental health effects of covid and isolation resulting from lockdowns, unless you experienced it as both my husband and I have, it can sometimes seems informational and sterile, not painful and as yet just beginning to resolve. Yes, there are hotlines and professionals reaching out, but for some of us, even that is a step that feels very far away. Writing is easier and deeply personal and has been serving as a first step in our healing process. Even my 81-year-old husband is on board with it in his own personal way. While his idea of applying the ideas in the book do not match mine, it is wonderfully amazing and enjoyable to see when he feels troubled by something painful that is happening to him or happened in the past how he gets his tiny notebook and announces he is going to write it down. This is not to mock him but rather to share how the book has become useful to someone who has never shown an interest in expressive writing and feared his ability “to do it correctly”.Highlights I found especially interesting:• The connection between confession and health• The connection between learning and enjoying learning with talking• The importance of translating feelings into words• The relationship between stress and memory problems• Lecturing in educational situations as a form of trauma and how it impeded assimilation and learning• This is possibly my favorite: Lev Vygotsky ( p 69), soviet psychologist and new ways to understand language and thought followed by an incredible experiment by Alex Luria that demonstrated that even kids 3-4 year olds mimic writing with scribbles to remember phasesI think this book is sorely needed to help us with what has happened in these past 2 years with the covid pandemic, and it has been helping us greatly. I hope others will give it a try and see if it can help them too.

Interesting to read about academic studies over time that show the benefits for some people who use expressive writing for trauma, stress, and burnout.

The book itself is not the best written book, but the IDEAS and CONTENT are what make this book worth reading. I've been practicing writing techniques from this book for a few weeks now and am feeling a little better and realizing so many things I went through that I had forgotten.

It's difficult to write about what is often called a "soft science" with many different variables. These authors leave no soft spots in the subject of expressive writing. The subject matter and their highly readable presentation stimulate both curiosity and the building of a solid foundation for further study. An excellent read

I bought this book on a recommendation from a close friend. I am a therapist and I found this book to be well written and easy to use to help improve emotional health.

I found the book to be crisp to the point. The authors summarize their research very well. Best if all is the last chapter that synthesizes the book very well.

Excellent book on the case for writing about stressful, life-changing events to help relieve brain from having to think about it.

I expected a larger set of writing exercises. The book is great if you want to understand the science behind why writing about your personal struggles helps you find emotional relief. However, if you are looking for a book with guidance to process more specific issues (say, anxiety, anger, grief, or what not), I recommend you search for a book more specifically oriented towards those topics.