Storytelling and Emotional Health
It has long been believed that storytelling is a vital part of human existence. Storytelling was used in the earliest days to relay important information by word of mouth for many years until the information could be written down, contributing to the unbelievable amounts of knowledge we have today regarding historical events and cultures. Additionally, storytelling is one of the biggest forms of entertainment we have today. Songs, movies, books, and plays can all be forms of storytelling. Aside from these well known uses and benefits of storytelling, however, the effects of storytelling on emotional health have been less explored, but are just as important, in my opinion.
Storytelling is often thought of as a practice more for other people rather than for the storyteller themselves. For example, people tell stories to make their friends laugh, to motivate their listeners to take specific action, or to ensure that important information is not forgotten by the people. However, the storyteller can gain just as many, if not more benefits by telling stories than the listener could. Though I’m not officially an expert on either storytelling or emotional health, I do tell stories, and I do have emotions, and personally, I believe that telling stories is one of the most healing practices for anyone, no matter their circumstances. I believe that the self-reflection that is required to compose and relay a story to listeners can bring comfort to the storyteller and contribute to a generally better emotional health.
Naturally, to tell a story requires at least some degree of vulnerability and openness with one’s listeners. Even if the story is only regarding lighthearted and easy-to-discuss subjects, it’s still vulnerability, because it requires a willingness to share personal details. Such candidness allows for the storyteller to be more well known by their listeners. Subsequently, the storyteller can then feel more loved and accepted by their listeners. Pastor Tim Keller explained this idea of being more fully loved when one is more fully known when he said, “To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is…what we need more than anything.” Thus, telling stories can bring one genuine joy and comfort by allowing them to feel more truly loved, which can be so healing when a person is feeling insecure, lonely, or dealing with difficult circumstances. This sort of idea is also supported by portions of the General Prologue of “The Canterbury Tales,” which says in lines 773–778, “And wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye, Ye shapen yow to talen and to pleye, For trewely, confort ne myrthe is noon To ride by the weye doumb as stoon; And therfore wol I maken yow disport, As I seyde erst, and doon yow som confort.” (“And well I know, as you go on your way, You’ll tell good tales and shape yourselves to play; For truly there’s no mirth nor comfort, none, Riding the roads as dumb as is a stone; And therefore I provide to you a sport, As I just said, to give you some comfort.” The author of “The Canterbury Tales” was suggesting that if the travelers were to tell stories, they would bond with one another, and then through that experience bring each other comfort.
Additionally, storytelling, as mentioned above, requires self-reflection. By reflecting on past experiences, whether positive or negative, it allows one to reexamine what they’ve gone through from a retrospective point of view. As many people say, hindsight is twenty-twenty, and by looking back on a situation through storytelling, one can find new meaning and purpose in situations they’ve gone through, which is another way for them to find healing. Telling stories also requires one to identify and focus on the truths of their experiences, whether good or bad. “The Canterbury Tales” also touches on the subject, when the narrator says in lines 732–738, “For this ye knowen also wel as I, Whoso shal telle a tale after a man, He moot reherce as ny as evere he kan Everich a word, if it be in his charge, Al speke he never so rudeliche or large, Or ellis he moot telle his tale untrewe, Or feyne thyng, or fynde wordes newe.” (“For this thing do you know as well as I: When one repeats a tale told by a man, He must report, as closely as he can, Every single word, as he remembers it, How vulgar it be, or how unfit; Or else he may be telling what’s untrue, Embellishing, even making up things too.”) Telling a story requires one to admit the truth to themselves, which can be healing as well.
Overall, though storytelling serves many, many purposes, its benefits to emotional health cannot be ignored. It may not necessarily be fair to argue that this is the most important purpose in general, but it is fair to say that this purpose can be the most beneficial specifically regarding human happiness. Storytelling enables people to feel liberated, healed, and truly loved through all of the thought processes that are necessary to craft a good story, proving it is one of the best ways to turn oneself into an emotionally healthy and happy person.
