Expressive writing
Expressive writing refers to the process of actively involving writing in order to express ones feeling and emotions. Verbal disclosure of self has long been considered beneficial and widely used in counselling and other therapies. Self-inhibition of negative emotions usually leads to continuous autonomic arousal resulting in poorer health. Writing therapy, is delineated in the literature as ‘expressive (emotional) disclosure’, ’written disclosure therapy’ or ‘expressive writing’ may have the potential to heal mentally and physically. A theory of emotional catharsis states that the mere act of disclosure, that is essentially ‘getting it off your chest’ is a powerful therapeutic agent by itself. Writing sometimes facilitate cognitive processing of traumatic memories, resulting in more adaptive, integrated representations about the writers, the writers world, and others. The development of a coherent narrative over time results in ongoing processing and finding meaning in the traumatic experience, which is done in Writing Therapy.