What is expressive writing?
In my weekly YouTube videos for The Weekly Process, I use the term ‘expressive writing’ instead of journaling or ‘therapeutic writing’ in some videos. As this term is used less commonly, I thought I would write this article to explain it.
So, what is expressive writing? James Pennebaker coined the term in the 1980s. The first scientific study, conducted in collaboration with Joshua Smyth in 1986, found that this technique seemed to help those who used it to offload and discharge feelings.
Professor Pennebaker was studying physiological responses to stress, and he began a study where he asked participants to declare if they had experienced any traumatic events in their lives. To reduce the effects that may take place if they were to tell someone else, he asked them to instead write about these experiences. He split the participants into two groups: one group wrote about traumatic experiences that they had never told anyone about before. The other group wrote about superficial topics. Both groups were asked to write for 15 minutes over four days.
The group who had experienced traumatic events and had kept these a secret showed improvements in mood and anxiety and had lower blood pressure readings than the other group. They also showed fewer visits to the doctors for health issues through the course of a year and at follow-up. This effect was even greater for those who had experienced childhood abuse. The results led Pennebaker to focus on this expressive writing, and he refined his methods over the years.
How long should I write for?
In a recent training course for CBT Therapists that I attended (Feb 2024), Professor Pennebaker stated that the duration of writing doesn’t matter as much, and even 5 minutes could be helpful. In a practical exercise, as part of the training, he asked us to write for 7 minutes to offload and then write for another 7 minutes to process and reflect. His findings are that those who use writing just to ‘brain-dump’ do not always see the same benefits as those who reflect and process what they have written.
Write to offload, write to disclose
Pennebaker’s studies suggest the powerful effect of disclosure on the body and brain. His research suggests that when we keep secrets, our brain and body uses resources to keep us from talking about these things, and that this has an impact on our whole body system, This can be one route to explanation for why keeping secrets can lead to ill health and disease.
Studies have shown that expressive writing can have effects on immune system response, better wound healing, improvements in adjusting to life transitions, reductions in anxiety and blood pressure, and improved recovery from PTSD.
The technique is a powerful method for disclosing and processing what we have experienced. It can help us make sense of what happened to us and reevaluate the meaning of events. I use it as my main method of offloading and processing the week for myself, and also in The Weekly Process sessions on YouTube. I have used it for a variety of issues, such as Worry, Sunday night anxiety, and Stress.
James Pennebaker’s website resources and further research studies
Professor Pennebaker page at the University of Texas, Austin
YouTube video of the original method
Where to find out more about expressive writing?
If you are interested in learning more about expressive writing and trying this method for yourself, here are some ways to get started.
Free Guide to expressive writing
Free Guided Expressive Writing Session
I run a free, weekly guided expressive writing session on YouTube on Sundays at 7.30pm UK time. Visit my channel here to see when the next live is scheduled.
Online Course in Expressive writing for emotional health
If you would like to take a deep dive into a course that combines CBT methods of managing feelings with expressive writing for offloading and processing emotions, I have written a self-paced online course. It will shortly be opening for enrolments.
Books on expressive writing
Here are some of the books that I recommend and most of which I have on my own bookshelves.
The Weekly Process Newsletter
If you found this article helpful and you are interested in expressive writing as a method for processing the week, you might like my Weekly Process Newsletter. I send it every Sunday, and each edition covers a topic related to emotion processing, expressive writing and CBT,
Add your name here, and I will send you my next edition!
