Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Blogging Might Be Good For Your Mental Health

I stumbled across three articles that talk about the positive community forming that comes from blogging-- they were in Newsweek, Scientific American and CNN online. Check them out by clicking on the highlighted words in the last sentence.

I certainly wasn't aware of this research when I began this blog. I started it as a way to keep my friends back in California informed of my research and day to day life when I moved to DC for the summer.

It has become much more than that, though. Writing in of itself is therapeutic for me, whether or not I share it. However, posting my writing where my friends and family and even strangers can access it on the internet has had unexpected benefits. It has strengthened friendships, mended some relationships and even helped create new ones.

Although I was initially hesitant to make a blog because I was worried about being stalked and revealing too much or pissing people off with my writing, I can honestly say I am quite pleased with the results. It's always nice when you stumble across a medium that works for you.

2 comments:

Erin Brown said...

Blogging has totally become therapeutic for me. I have totally made more progress in my social justice purists because of it. It's a good processing tool, I think.

There is this book called the Artist's Way, and it's about creativity and a method for really stimulating your creativity. Every morning she recommends that you sit down and write two pages of stream of consciousness. The theory is that you can't create anything new if you don't get all of that surfacey junk out of your brain that is clogging up the system. Blogging for me has the same effect.

The more I write down my thoughts, the more my brain has room to expand them.

Hermit Thrush said...

I find the same is true. Writing down my thoughts forces me to process my feelings. It's pretty amazing, huh? And a little bit addictive-- I definitely feel restless both when I don't get to exercise and when I don't get to write. It's a productive way to let out energy and without it I feel like my emotions and energy are all bottled up.