Things I Love #2: Venting
Boy did that feel great! Yesterday I was a balled-up angry mess, but then I typed the word “pissed” 500 times and I felt much better!
As I have said before, pain makes me angry. How could it not? Pain leads to all things bad in my world, so sometimes I have to just spew forth like an angry volcano and relieve some of the pressure and tension that has built up. Right now I can hear Rob cheering that I took it out on “Dr. Charlatan” and not on him.
So since I felt so great afterwards (like I could have wrestled a buffalo and won), I decided to google the health benefits of writing and expression. Turns out that I am not on to anything new.
The first study I found was specifically conducted on Fibromyalgia patients, and the researchers found “Fibromyalgia patients experienced short-term benefits in psychological and health variables through emotional expression of personal traumatic experiences.” They concluded that written emotional expression can be beneficial to your short-term health.
Then I read a broader and more in-depth study. They found similar short-term benefit, as in the Fibromyalgia study, in addition to the following long-term benefits:
Longer-term benefits of expressive writing
Health outcomes
- Fewer stress-related visits to the doctor
- Improved immune system functioning
- Reduced blood pressure
- Improved lung function
- Improved liver function
- Fewer days in hospital
- Improved mood/affect
- Feeling of greater psychological well-being
- Reduced depressive symptoms before examinations
- Fewer post-traumatic intrusion and avoidance symptoms
Social and behavioral outcomes
- Reduced absenteeism from work
- Quicker re-employment after job loss
- Improved working memory
- Improved sporting performance
- Higher students’ grade point average
- Altered social and linguistic behaviour
So there you have it. Proof that my crazy rants are not for nothing. Not only do they give me short-term relief, but they are also providing me long-term, valuable health benefits. Cool! The last time I was at the doctors my blood pressure was 112/70. “Very good!” she said. I think I will keep up with my blog and my crazy rants of expression and see what she has to say next time.
I’ve always been struck by how much creative expression (in most any form) seems to help my fibro. It’s one of the closest things to a “cure” that I’ve found. Ranting, raving or just writing silly stuff, seems to do wonderful things for the brain and body. As for venting, I’ll have to work on it.
Grrrrr….(<– practice).
Lord knows you’ve had plenty to vent about! Go ahead, give it a try.
You are so right about creative expression helping. In a very short time this blog has done a lot for me. I look forward to sitting down to it each day.