Reader Response Draft 3

In the article “Writing Your Way to Happiness”, Parker-Pope (2015) claims that expressive writing can make one happier. Expressive writing is both physically and mentally beneficial. The writer mentions that writing and rewriting your own stories “can lead to behavioural changes” and it can help change our views of ourselves. Studies conducted in America, as mentioned in the article, has proven that students who edited their own narrative about college, as compared to those who did not, turned out to be more successful in their academics. Writing enables us to reconstruct and redefine our problems which enables us to face our problems, leading to a “life course correction”. A “life course correction” refers to a change of lifestyle and change of outlook on life. Writing can help a person recognize what is more important to them.

Pennebaker’s idea of expressive writing being a “life course correction” is able to lead people to becoming happier. The main benefits of writing like health benefits, enabling people to solve their problems and change their perception allows them to change their lifestyle which will make them happier. The health benefits from expressive writing can prolong people’s life, enabling them to spend more quality time with their loved ones. Expressive writing changes people’s perspective on life and it helps them to face and solve problems.

Expressive writing can provide people with health benefits. It is beneficial especially to those who are suffering from anxiety related sickness like asthma.  Experiments have shown that asthma patients who wrote daily about their experiences got better and it prevented their conditions from deteriorating (Miller, 2014). Expressive writing also helps to reduce stress, as shown in a research on HIV- related anxiety. “By writing, you put some structure and organization to those anxious feelings. It helps you to get past them.” (Murray, 2002). These health benefits can help to improve their medical conditions, which will increase their comfort in their lives. They would not have to suffer as much as they did in the past and this will definitely make them happier. Slowly, their life course will be corrected as their conditions improve. Parker- Pope has also stated that expressive writing can improve mood disorder. The improvement in mood disorder helps to improve people’s well- being and it changes their lifestyle as we are no longer restricted by sickness or disorders. Expressive writing brings about health benefits which improves and corrects people’s life, enabling them to become happier as they are able to enjoy more quality time with their loved ones.

Expressive writing forces people to face their problems. Writing down one’s problems and conflicts enables the person to redefine and reconstruct them. Instead of the endless regurgitating of the problem in a person’s head, writing it down allows them to accurately identify what is going wrong. Also, people will have sufficient time to stop and think about how the issue has broader implications, which highlights solving the problems to prevent any bad things to happen. People suffers psychologically when they have a problem. The cultivation of a habit of facing problems readily from expressive writing allows one to identify that he or she has made a mistake and the person would have to correct it, “to change course and move forward a better person” (Millburn & Nicodemus). Expressive writing helps people to face their long term problems, problems which have been hindering them for a long time. Solving these problems will enable them to live life differently as they are no longer restricted by the problems they were facing. Their life course will be corrected and they will become happier.

Expressive writing changes a person’s perspective in life. Expressive writing allows people to write and re-write their life experiences. This enables people to have a more thorough thinking of the events or experiences. It offers another viewpoint on a certain matter and it makes the cause and effect more obvious, allowing people to identify what they did right or wrong. (Friedman and Silver, 2006). Expressive writing allows people to assess where they are, where they have heading towards and it allows people to do the things needed to continue moving towards their goals in life. People will be clear and know that they should not be making the past same mistakes. (Millburn & Nicodemus, n.d.)

In my opinion, expressive writing really do helps in changing our lifestyle and how people look at life. Writing enables people to get a clearer view of what they are experiencing and it helps them better visualize their situation. This creates more awareness and it provides people with a clearer direction in their life course. We will be able to suffer from lesser worries and problems and we will be happier because of our more positive outlook in life.

In conclusion, expressive writing allows people to be healthier and have a different perspective in life.  Expressive writing makes people more optimistic as they are able to solve their problems and their life is always changing because they “write” who they are. This will definitely change people’s life courses as they will start to have a more positive outlook in life. They will become happier as they will believe that things will turn out well. They will believe that they can solve the problems that have been standing in their way. As stated widely by Revich, (2010) “Optimism is a key ingredient to happiness” (Reivich, 2010). Therefore, it is recommended for people to start writing their way to happiness as there are so many benefits to it and they will be able to correct their life courses, making them happier people.

References

Craig Miller, M (2014). The Mental Health Benefits of Expressive Writing. Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Retrieved from http://www.intelihealth.com/article/the-mental-health-benefits-of-expressive-writing?hd=Minding

Friedman R.H.S and Silver I.R.C, (2006,14 Aug). Foundations of Health Psychology. Oxford University Press. Pg. 277, 278. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=AX3Gc2C_vGEC&pg=PA279&lpg=PA279&dq=expressive+writing+as+a+life+course+correction&source=bl&ots=shQBHfrYhT&sig=gyEtDrofmQIhYRIzoOiYU1E0HJM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jzjWVP2lIZSsuQTg5oD4Dw&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

Millburn, J.F. and Nicodemus. (n.d.). Course Correction. [Weblog post]. Retrieved from http://www.theminimalists.com/correction/

Murray, B (2002). Writing to heal. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun02/writing.aspx

Reivich, K (2010). Optimism: A Key Ingredient to Happiness. Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/publications/cq/pdf/v38n7_ft_optimism.pdf