Opening Up by James W Pennebaker Chapter Thirteen

And finally I come to the last chapter of this book which is so rich with information and reasons for why writing is so essential to the wellbeing of those who have experienced trauma, who are faces challenges, or who just aspire to be able to put things in perspective.

But Pennebaker does not overlook that writing, like any other tool to facilitate, can be used to hinder progress than foster it. His list of questions is provocative and cautionary, questions every journal keeper should occasionally revisit to ensure that the purpose of journaling has not gotten lost along the way.

The Downside of Writing
Are you using writing as a substitute for action?
Is your writing an intellectual rather than a self-reflective exercise?
Are you using writing as a forum for uncensored complaining?
Is your writing an exercise in self-reflection or in self-absorption?
(194-196)

I know I hear a lot of people lament the pointlessness of writing out the same thing over and over again. Perhaps they have forgotten that writing about something doesn’t mean you don’t have to do anything else. I’ve also heard people say that their journals just sound like so much complaining and there never seems to be anything reflective about what they are writing.

I know I have been guilty of using my journals irresponsibly. And perhaps there is a time to do these things. We don’t always have to immediately talk or write about things. Nor do we have to dive into the deeper, darker, parts immediately. There is something perhaps necessary about taking this idea of writing about trauma slowly.

There is nothing magical about writing in a self-disclosing manner(197). No, there is nothing magical about writing. In fact, this kind of self-reflective writing takes work. It means looking at yourself in new ways, of daring to be transparent at least with yourself. I don’t think many people actually do this. Self-awareness is not as common as perhaps it should be but that is more a confirmation of the challenges that are implied in choosing this path rather than a negation of the rightness of writing.

Pennebaker offers another list of the benefits of writing:

Writing clears the mind
Writing resolves traumas that stand in the way of important tasks.
Writing helps in acquiring and remembering new information.
Writing fosters problem solving.
Freewriting promotes forced writing. (190-191)

I have benefited so much from writing, I didn’t need this book to tell me that it works. But reading about Pennebaker’s search for answers, his methods for doing the research, and the results help reinforce, even validate, what I know to be true in my own life. There have been times of silence in my life. These are few and far between. I don’t promise that I won’t fall into silence again at some time. I only know that I will return to this practice of writing because it is always there for me, always ready to hear whatever I have to say, and never judging nor advising me. In my journals I am free to be the Satia I don’t bother to share with others. Or perhaps the Satia I don’t want anyone knows lies deep beneath the seemingly transparent surface.