I Just Can’t Help My-Shelf

I’m ranting, raving and it’s all about writing. I just can’t help myself. I’m sure when you attempt to envision a writer, you imagine something along the lines of a quirky recluse, hunched over a desk and surrounded by crumpled balls of paper as they work on their next great novel.

But writing is more than that. Much more. Academically, I’ve observed this firsthand as a student of RMIT Associate Degree of Writing and Editing. However, by definition, prose is thought put to a page, which makes all of us writers, even if we don’t have the degree or qualification. In most cases, writing is the most useful tool we have for thinking, exploration and creativity, and generally is used in our daily lives. But why is writing so important? And what are some of the hidden benefits that come with being able to put pen to paper?

Slow Down and Smell the Ink

Now, I’m sure when you think of that writer hunched over their desk, you think of that being their day job. A designed time to work. But, how can anyone who isn’t a writer — a non-writer, if you will — find the time in their busy day to sit down and write? And why even bother?

Through our strenuous day-to-day lives, we often find ourselves faced with a range of stressors. Whether that be work, money troubles or picking the kids up from day-care on time. Each day brings a new set of challenge and as the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare will reveal we as Australians have not been looking after ourselves. With an estimated 1 in 5 Australians suffering from a mental illness, it is clear that our demanding lives are beginning to catch up with us.

But how can writing help? Writing is no stranger when it comes to therapy and maintaining our mental health. It is a very simple yet powerful tool that is often recommended by many psychologists, whether that be in the form of journaling, logbooks or questionnaires. Writing has become an essential aid in the process of mental healing and has been seen through various psychological studies.

For example, social psychologist James W. Pennebaker study on the mental benefits that come with expressive journal writing. Through writing for just 20 minutes a day, results showed that participants with depression, anxiety and/or forms of trauma saw a significant difference in their mood, depression levels and their overall ability to cope with daily life stressors. As they used this time to press pause on the world and release any build-up emotions, thoughts or feelings, ultimately resulting in a clearer mind and leaving them with the ability to navigate their emotions better.

A Writing Workout

Since Pennebaker’s 1997 psychological paper ‘Writing About Emotional Experiences as a Therapeutic Process’, more than 400 studies have been conducted proving the same results. But what about the physical benefits writing can hold for us? Well, apart from a good hand workout that results in an occasional cramp, writing has also been shown be a nourishing tool for our bodies when it comes to our physical wellbeing. Through psychologist Joshua Smyth’s ground-breaking study, he discovered that writing down your thoughts, feelings and emotions not only benefitted your mental state, as Pennebaker proved early on, but it also revealed a significant boost in the immune system of patients suffering from such illnesses as HIV/AIDS, asthma and arthritis.

Smyth emphasised that through tapping into the healing powers of writing, illnesses that are frequently stress prone can result in an incredible decrease in the deteriorated of patients. Finding that patients who spent 30 minutes a day writing down about their negative life experiences and daily schedules measured a higher CD4 lymphocyte count — a gauge of immune functioning — also discovering the disappearance of such a boost when patients had stopped writing.

So, what’s not to love about writing? And what a better way to stay in shape than sitting down at your desk and moving a minimal amount of your body? Through allocating that small fraction of your day, you allow both your mind and body to converse. Giving it the much-needed time to reflect and repair, overall benefitting your health, wellbeing and strengthening your body’s immune system. All in the name of a good story.

The Magic Wand

Okay, you’ve done it. You’re writing for 20–30mins a day and both your mind and body are thanking you. But what about the external stuff? What about the world that continues to shape and shift outside of ourselves? How does our writing impact the world? And how does the world impact the way we write? It all begins with a magic wand, or rather a pen.

The ability to write down information is an incredibly useful tool that we often find ourselves utilising on a daily basis, and as previously explored host an immense amount of benefit. This incredible tool, however, not only has the power to provide us with a range of advantages, but also the world around us. Providing both short-term and long-term effects, the act of writing information down greatly impacts the world around us.

This can be seen in many forms. Whether it be an inclusive effect, such as your boss being greatly impacted by your increased productivity and drive, as explored through neurologist Mark Murphy’s study on goal setting and the encoding process; a biological process by which the things we perceive travel to our brain and are they’re analysed. Or whether it be our published novels, being read in a hundred years’ time by other hunched over recluses who aren’t even born yet.

This magic wand may leave its mark. But it is the connection that writing leaves behind that allows us to evolve and benefit from even the smallest of ink spots. Through taking that short period to write down, whether it be your emotions or the next Great Gatsby, it allows the world around us to continue to thrive and as a result leaves us with a new story. Everyone wins. And what do you need to do that? Just a pen.

So, what has writing taught us? Personally, writing has taught me a lot, and I have been taught a lot about writing. But it is the hidden benefits that hide themselves behind each page that leave me wanting more time. Writing has seen me through some of the toughest moments of my life and has become a staple, not only for myself, but for many of my classmates when it comes to maintaining their mental health. Fellow classmate, Isabella Listro explains “…Writing lets you forget about the stressors of life. You’re jumping into a new world and letting your brain relax and reflect…”

By taking just a small portion of your day to collect, express and imagine, you are not only strengthening yourself as a healthy individual, but you are also supplying the world with some exceptional benefits, both great and small. So, is it worth it? I can’t help myself but shelf-ishly agree.