Writing can be a prescription for better health, says Barton Dr Robert M Jaggs-Fowler
A QUESTION I am frequently asked is how I find time to write as well as run a busy medical practice.
Well, I could claim that it is an illness. After all, the Roman satirist, Juvenal, once proclaimed that "many suffer from the incurable disease of writing, and it becomes chronic in their sick minds".
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Writing a prescription
However, the answer is that for me writing is not an illness, but is therapeutic. I am not alone in that sentiment, as many other writers will tell you something similar
Writing is a good way to wake up the brain in the mornings, and is a relaxing way to unwind at the end of a busy day or week.
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Henri Stendhal, a French novelist, once declared that "for those who have tasted the profound activity of writing, reading is no more than a secondary pleasure"; so I apologise to all those readers who are presently not having as much fun reading this column as I had writing it.
You are, nonetheless, in good company. Winnie-the-Pooh's friend, Eeyore, might have agreed with you, stating "this writing business – pencils and what-not; over-rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it".
There is, however, a serious message behind today's column.
Research has shown that writing can indeed be therapeutic in many different conditions, especially when stress is an underlying cause of the illness.
The precise mechanism of action is unknown; though there is a lot to be said for just "getting it off your chest" (my recurrent reflections on the state of the National Health Service spring to mind).
However, it is likely that there is a much deeper-seated action, triggered from within the brain, which has a longer lasting positive effect on health.
That said, the therapeutic effects of writing are not restricted to emotional issues. There is good clinical research to show how writing can improve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, reduce resting blood pressure, improve walking speeds in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, quicken recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder, produce an enhanced sense of mental and physical well-being in patients with bowel, breast or prostate cancer, and reduce the symptoms of some adults with asthma.
Writing is also a useful adjunct to counselling, being a means by which a patient can express concerns, fears and unpleasant memories in a controlled way.
Often performed while in the comfort and privacy of their own home, the patient can take time to say what they really want to say, without the distress of speaking directly to a stranger.
The counsellor can then subsequently use what has been written as a means of conducting the therapeutic session. In many ways, writing therapy can mirror the process of art therapy, the value of which is already well-recognised.
Whatever writing may be to you, I personally subscribe to the view of the Japanese diarist, Sei Shonagon, who proclaimed that "if writing did not exist, what terrible depressions we should suffer from".
On that thought, perhaps everyone should adopt writing as a resolution. Happy New Year to you all.
Comments
by Shinya
Tuesday, January 01 2013, 2:45PM
“Strewth ! nothing like getting the new year off to a cheerful start is there.”
by bubblestoo
Tuesday, January 01 2013, 11:56AM
“Writing maybe a way forward for those who can put their true feelings into words for others to understand and make meaningful change to those with chronic heath problems but that needs trust of those reading their writings and then to make changes to their lives.
While many sit there perhaps keep a diary, this can be good or bad and to be frank is only important to those who write it and in many cases too painful to let other read, as from personal experiences over too many years, only those who have shared experiences can begin to understand the pain in that writing.
While it is all well and good for those in society to make such statements, in the real world of chronic pain, disability and long term illness, where they need something positive to look forward and work to.
Change can be made to peoples lives if said people want to move forward and supported by the systems of care in place, which to be frank in too many cases do not understand the cause and affect of the illness, only topping too many up with prescription medication and sent home with the 'Chemical Cosh'.
With many hidden away from society, or ignored by society perceived as a drain of the society, we need root and branch change in the ways we help and support those with chronic / long term illness / disability. It's not rocket science, as why are such people given medications / over medicated and allowed to sink into the more of despair and hopelessness, when with the right first care and support, they can be got back into society, this being a win - win situation for the individual, their family and the wider community.
There are many ways to help if the chronically ill are prepared to help themselves and theh systems are in place to help them.
Much of this is down to rebuilding their self esteem, self worth and confidence, if only the powers that be listen and have the ability to help make the change that is needed.”