By Bloomwork, PsychCentral, March 18, 2020
Linda: James W. Pennebaker is a social psychologist, and a Centennial Liberal Arts Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studies the health consequences of secrets. A pioneer of writing therapy, he has researched the link between language and recovering from trauma and been “recognized by the American Psychological Association as one of the top researchers on trauma, disclosure, and health. In his book, Opening up: The Healing Power of Confiding in Others, (New York: Morrow, 1990) and Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions (New York: Guilford, 1997) he speaks of hardships in both childhood and adulthood, including a death of a family member, divorce, sexual and physical assault, living with an addict, or mentally ill parent, as well as other traumas. In his research, he assesses how extensively participants talk about these events.
The findings of his studies are quite clear. Those who did not disclose about their traumas were more likely to suffer both minor and major health problems such as ulcers, flu, headaches, cancer, and high blood pressure. The cause of the silence about the events varies from person to person, and includes some or all of the following: feelings of guilt, shame, a valiant attempt to move on and forget the past, fear that no one would believe them, or could understand what they lived through, an attempt to protect their family and friends from being upset, or a resistance to reliving the pain of the trauma.
Pennebaker discovered that it was not the nature of the adversity, nor was it the length of time that the difficulty persisted, that predicted health problems. No matter the nature of the problem, it was commitment to remain silent and to not disclose or confide with another that turned out to be more damaging than having experienced the events. His research illustrates how therapeutic it is to disclose disturbing thoughts, emotions, and memories. By attempting to deny or conceal mental suffering, it does not fade away. The suffering manifests as disturbances in the body.
Comments (0)