Diary writing bad for health
Comments: 8
Beware the ruminative cycle. New Scientist reports on a study presented this week to the British Psychological Society that seems to suggest keeping a diary is a health hazard. I have no idea if the methodology is valid at all: I just post these stories because they’re funny.
Their finding challenges assumptions that people find it easier to get over a traumatic event if they write about it.
“We expected diary keepers to have some benefit, or be the same, but they were the worst off,” says Elaine Duncan of the Glasgow Caledonian University. “In fact, you’re probably much better off if you don’t write anything at all,” she adds.
No word on blogging.
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Posted to Oh, the Humanity • 2004.09.11 (Sat) • 20:44
Comments
Posted by dana 2004.09.11, 23:50
That sounds a little prosposterous. I am reluctant to believe it.
Posted by mademoiselle a. 2004.09.12, 19:14
Thought lies near that Mrs Duncan is suffering from the “Robinson Crusoe” trauma — forced to read it for class, she developed a sheer hate and a general hate over diary writers. Or that she is quite an unorganized person, which would correspond to the Crusoe trauma as well :)
More seriously, I would suspect that the research parameters just aren’t well chosen, as is the underlying idea. Money waisted.
Posted by CHaws 2004.09.22, 13:24
What about all those old episodes of “The Waltons” where John Boy keeps his journal….
Diary writing seemed like a good idea to me and has been useful to me in problem solving.
Maybe the next thesis should be “ignorance is bliss”.
Posted by lola 2005.02.23, 03:25
ELAINES DATA IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH PREVIOUS FINDINGS AND DOES MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT. IM CURIOUS TO WHAT HER NEXT STUDY WILL FIND AND IM RESERVING JUDGEMENT FOR NOW. ALTHOUGH IT DOES NT TAKE AWAY THE POSITIVE IMPACT SOME INDIVIDUALS GAIN FROM WRITING OR CREATIVE THERAPY
Posted by Mcgill 2005.08.18, 16:23
Now what’s this? keeping a diary is health hazard. Most of the peole think of this as disgusting but it is real in its real sense. I came across many professors who described it for me in a manner that I had to accept the claim anyhow.
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Posted by Jenni 2006.05.29, 11:43
re diary writing - in my case I would agree that it’s bad for my mental health. I go over and over the same old stuff when I get depressed and I get nowhere. It always makes me feel worse than when I started - I only use diary for bad days. I wrote a blog poem today and afterwards felt so calm…got so much out in that one little poem that I never do when I’m flailing around in the diary.
Posted by Bev 2007.02.18, 12:21
I have found diary writing to be a very efficient tool to get myself motivated. I do go over and over the same thing at times, but looking at it in retrospect, I have moved forward in ways that I wouldn’t have if I had not journalled. I’m convinced of that.
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