It's possible that I already posted about this, but since I'm too lazy to look it up, I'll just post now anyway. The truth is, I'm procrastinating on submitting a conference presentation proposal. It's due tomorrow. The conference isn't until next March. Nothing like planning ahead. At least this time if I get sick at conference time, I can sleep comfortably in my own bed--the conference is here in 2009, so no travel required.Back to my original idea. Not my original idea, but my original reason for posting: The psychological benefits of keeping a blog. A few weeks ago, this article on CNN caught my eye. Besides the fact that I am a blogger (I maintain four blogs, heaven help me), I had been struggling with answering a coworker's question when she overheard me say that I blog. The question was, "Why do people do that, anyway? Who reads other people's journals?" Well...I told her that I had always kept a journal anyway, especially when things in my life weren't going well. It seemed to me that if was taking the time to write everything down anyway, then I might as well make it available for other people to read--especially if there was a chance they would find it helpful or just amusing.
There were a couple of lines in the CNN article that resonated with me:
Writing long has been considered a therapeutic outlet for people facing problems. A 2003 British Psychological Society study of 36 people suggested that writing about emotions could even speed the healing of physical wounds: Researchers found that small wounds healed more quickly in those who wrote about traumatic personal events than in those who wrote about mundane activities.
But it's the public nature of blogs that creates the sense of support. "Blogging can create an instant support system, especially at a time when you might not have the energy or resources to seek out people who've shared your experiences," says Mason, author of "No One Cares What You Had For Lunch," a book on keeping a blog interesting.
John Suler, a psychology professor at Rider University in New Jersey, has studied the overlap of psychology and cyberspace. Blog audiences are usually small, he says, but "going public with one's thoughts and experiences can be a self-affirming process."
To read the entire article (it's short), click here.
3 comments:
"I can't talk right now, I'm blogging this." Ha! Good one.
Blogging, even when it has backfired, has helped me. Some might disagree in the sense that I see large groups of readers as a somewhat accurate representation of society and I take this as proof that certain messages pervade society as a whole. The 'Forgiveness Committee' and the 'Just Get Over It Patrol' are alive and well. It has still been a good thing because I don't much mind telling them both where to go, online or IRL.
On the flipside, it is also proof that not everyone is like that. That's a REALLY good thing.
When I first started seeing my current therapist, she asked what I wanted from therapy. I told her I wanted somebody to listen to me, but necessrily talk to me. For a year, I kept emphasizing that she was the only person who listened to me, and that was because I paid her to do that. I tink I said, "If I didn't pay somebody to listen to me, I know that nobody would."
When I started blogging, I didn't know if anyone would read my blog or not--and I didn't care. For me, it was enough just to get the words out. It still is. I don't think more than three people read this blog, but I appreciate that those three people take the time to do it and sometimes even have a comment or two along the way.
Aw. It's nice to be appreciated. I appreciate being able to read here, too. And no, I certainly don't need to be paid. As a matter of fact, I was just getting ready for bed and I just had to come to the Brainucopia first.
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