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WillaPoemaDayKeeptheDoctorAway?|PsychologyToday

Will a Poem a Day Keep the Doctor Away?

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PostpublishedbyLindaWasmerAndrewsonJan16,2011inMindingtheBody

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Theuseofpoetryfortherapeuticpurposesgoes
backtoprimitiveritesinwhichshamanswould
chantpoemsforthewelfareofanindividualor
thetribe,accordingtotheNationalAssociation
forPoetryTherapy
(http://www.poetrytherapy.org).Itsuseasa
supplementaltreatmentformentaldisorderscan
betracedbacktoaGreekphysiciannamed
SoranusinthesecondcenturyAD.Today,
sometherapistsusepoetryreadingorwritingto
facilitatehealingorpromotepersonalgrowthin
theirclients.AndmanymoreEnglishteachers
exhorttheirstudentstoexpressthemselvesina
Source:morgueFile

poem.
Ononehand,then,wehavealongtraditionof

viewingpoetrywritingasahealthymodeofselfexpressionandausefuladjuncttomentalhealth
(/basics/health)treatment.Ontheotherhand,there'saprevalentstereotype(/basics/bias)thatpoets
aremadandresearchsuggeststhatthisstereotypeisn'ttotallyunfounded.Studieshaveshownthat
mentalillnessismorecommoninpeoplefromartisticfieldsthanincreativepeoplefromotherfields.
Andwithinthearts,poetsespeciallyfemalepoetsseemtobethemostvulnerabletomentalillness
andsuicide(/basics/suicide),atendencythathasbeendubbedtheSylviaPlathEffect.

GetaFreeissueofPsychologyToday

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Fortunately,thatdoesn'tnecessarilymeanthatwritingpoetrywillbehazardoustoyourhealthifyou're
amoreordinaryversifier.Researchhasfocusedoneminentpublishedpoets,ahighlyselectgroup
whomaybeabreedapartinnumerousways.Ifabuddingcreativegeniusalsohappenstothinkina
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distortedorfragmentedway,it'seasytoseehowheorshemightbedrawntowritingpoetry,withits
richopportunitiesfordistortion(unusualmetaphors,strangeimagery)andfragmentation(choppy
phrases,incompletethoughts).Butthatdoesn'timplythatthepoetrywritingcausedamentalillnessin
ourpoeticgenius.Ifanything,it'sprobablytheotherwayaround.
Fortherestofus,itseemslikelythatpenningapoemwon'tdoanyharmandmightbesomehelp.
ElegyforaLoss
Backin1982,thefirstpieceofwritingIeversoldwasapoem
(http://mothering.com/poems/miscarriage)called"TheMiscarriage,"whichoriginallyappearedin
Motheringmagazine.Thepoemwasasimplebutheartfeltresponsetomyownpregnancy
(/basics/pregnancy)loss.Ithadbeenafirsttrimestermiscarriage,somedicallyandsocietally,itwas
almostanonevent.Butemotionally,itfeltlikeasignificantloss,andthispoemwasmywayof
mourningit.Apparently,thepoemspoketootherwomenaswell,becauseithasbeenwidely
republishedeversince,appearinginmagazinesandanthologies,onwebsitesandblogs,and,most
recently,incondensedforminTwitter(/basics/socialnetworking)tweets.
Didwritingthispoemhelpmefeelbetter?Absolutely,andthatwastruefromthemomentIputitto
paper,whichwaswellbeforeIevershowedittoanyoneorsubmitteditforpublication.AlthoughI
didn'trealizeitatthetime,Iwasinstinctivelypracticingpoetryselftherapyasameansofhelping
myselfgrieve.
Inanarticle(http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a909228258~frm=titlelink)in
theJournalofPoetryTherapy,LeaTufford,adoctoralstudentinsocialworkattheUniversityof
Toronto,arguesthatpoetrywritingmayhelpsynthesizeandreleasetheintenseemotionsarousedby
another,closelyrelatedexperience:infertility.Shenotesthatcapturingdifficultemotionsonapage
mayhelppeoplegetabettergrasponthem.Whenitcomestodealingwithinfertilityormiscarriagein
particular,thecreationofapoemmayalsooffertheauthoradifferentkindofbirthingexperience.
OdetoExpression
Thereareanumberofreasonswhypoetrymaybeparticularlywellsuitedtoemotionalexpression.
Theuseofmetaphorandimagerymayhelpthewritergivevoicetoemotionalundertonesthatwould
otherwisebehardtoputintowords.Theuseofrhythmmaytapintopowerfulnonverbalresponses,
muchthewaymusicdoes.Andtheabstractnature(/basics/environment)ofpoetrymaymakeiteasier
totakeacloselookatpainfulexperiences,whichmightfeeltoothreateningtoapproachinadirect,
literalmanner.
Overthepast25years,morethan200studieshaveinvestigatedthementalandphysicalhealth
benefitsofexpressivewriting.Thisresearchisrootedinthebeliefthatdisclosingemotionsacore
componentofmuchpsychotherapy(/basics/therapy)isbeneficialevenwithouttheaidofatherapist.
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Studieshaveshownthatdisclosingchallengingexperiencesinpersonalwritingcanleadto
improvementsinawiderangeofhealthoutcomes,suchasselfreportedmoodsandsymptoms,doctor
visits,immunecellcounts,liverenzymelevels,andantibodyresponsetovaccines.Thesestudies
havegenerallylookedatstructured,narrativeprose,however,soit'sunclearwhetherwaxingpoetic
wouldhavesimilareffects.
Butthat'snotgoingtostopmefromspeculatingthatitmight.Likenarrativewriting,poetrywritingcan
helpreframethoughtsaboutachallengingorunsettlingexperience,especiallywhenmultiplepoems
explorethesamethemefromdifferentangles.Ultimately,thismayleadtoareappraisalofthe
experienceaslessarbitraryandoverwhelming,andmoremeaningfulandsurvivable.
Tociteaprettyfairauthorityonthematter:"Wemakeoutofthequarrelwithothers,rhetoric,butofthe
quarrelwithourselves,poetry."WilliamButlerYeats
LindaWasmerAndrews(http://lindaandrews.com)isahealth/psychologyjournalistwithamaster's
degreeinpsychology.She'sauthorof14booksandcloseto3,000articles,buthermostreprinted
pieceofwritingtodateisthatfirstlittlepoem.

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