'Narrative expressive writing' might protect against harmful health effects of divorce-related stress

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/wkh-ew050817.php

Public Release: 8-May-2017
'Narrative expressive writing' might protect against harmful health effects of divorce-related stress
Wolters Kluwer Health

For people going through a divorce, a technique called narrative expressive writing--not just writing about their emotions, but creating a meaningful narrative of their experience--may reduce the harmful cardiovascular effects of stress related to marital separation, reports a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

Narrative expressive writing led to improvements in heart rate and an index of the heart's responses to stress, according to the research by psychology doctoral student Kyle J. Bourassa and colleagues of University of Arizona, Tucson. "The results suggest that the ability to create a structured narrative--not just re-experiencing emotions but making meaning out of them--allows people to process their feelings in a more adaptive way, which may in turn help improve their cardiovascular health," said Kyle Bourassa.

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