What the medical research now contributes is the fact that it seems as though just imagining yourself as granting forgiveness may lower your blood pressure, decrease your heart rate, and produce skin conductance changes–all physiological signs of improving your health. Best of all, your mood can improve when you focus on forgiving. This is helpful for a number of conditions ranging from anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and chronic pain. (1)

If you have dropped in on this blog in the past, then it should come as no surprise to you that I endorse expressive WellWriting to promote well-being and health. As I have continued the work of writing for healing (WellWriting), it has become apparent to me that hanging onto anger, old hurts, and resentment contribute considerably to many chronic health and pain syndromes. The answer? Forgive to live and for the health of it.

Forgiveness is a learned skill and very much a process. My current work is a book in the making. If you have a story of forgiving and then being better and want to share that story, please add a comment to this blog entry.

Meanwhile, a number of books exist to address the issue of forgiveness. To browse a few, click here.

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(1) Source: Integrative Medicine: Text with BONUS PocketConsult Handheld Software (Rakel, Integrative Medicine)

Now there may be proof of their assertions from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. To read an overview of the study, click here.

by

Ellen Taliaferro, MD

The May issue of the journal of psychology publishes an article that looks at expressive writing as a preventive tool.[1] Many studies have demonstrated a benefit on the use of expressive writing” regarding a past or ongoing stressful experience results in a wide range of beneficial effects, including physical health and cognitive functioning.”

This article, Effects of expressive writing on standardized graduate entrance exam performance and physical health functioning, differs in that it looks forward and not backwards. The authors looked at the impact of expressive writing to prepare for a stressful examination.

Findings? The students who used expressive writing to prep for the upcoming examination produced a mean exam score significantly higher (19 percentile points) than the control group of students. Of note, the students in the experimental group who wrote on 3 or more occasions experienced the greatest benefits.

Click here to see the article abstract.

[1] J Psychol. 2009 May;143(3):279-92.

Writing can be rewarding, but also lonely and frustrating when we get ourselves tangled up in webs and knots of words. When we start to feel trapped idea tangles, it may be time to take a walk and ponder happiness every step of the way.

Why not take a brief break and check out Gretchen’s one minute movie by clicking here.

So let’s start with the business at hand. One of my roles in life this year consists of being the program chair for our National Speakers Association, Northern California Chapter. Speaker Karyn Ruth White was referred to me today by our Chapter president, Ian Griffin. When I checked out Karyn’s website and my whole day got instantly better.

Who says writing can’t be healing?

Writers who make you laugh have a healing touch. If you laugh as hard as I did after visiting this speaker’s website, you will dump so many endorphins into your blood stream that you will fly through your troubles.

Check it out by clicking here or on her photo in this post.

Five Simple Techniques for Surviving Information Overload

Productivity Consultant Shows You How to Find Anything in Your Office in 5 Seconds–Guarantees Results

In spite of the promise of the “paperless office,” studies predict there will be 50% more paper in offices by the end of 2005 than there was in 1995. Only 10% of the people in a recent survey by University of Washington School of Information were happy with the way they handled electronic information. Research shows the average worker spends 150 hours per year looking for misplaced information, but 80% of what we keep we never use.

If you’ve tried to organize your desk in the past, but it didn’t last, consider these tips from Elizabeth Hagen, CPO® to eliminate clutter, reduce stress, and increase results:

Take everything off your desk except what you must do.

Today’s mail is tomorrow’s pile. Put everything else you can’t throw away in boxes to deal with later. Create a new system to eliminate future messes – then you can deal with the past.

Clutter is Postponed Decisions®! Implement The FAT System

1. File it in a reference file or electronic folder in case you need it later.
2. Act on it immediately or in the near future.
3. Toss, recycle, or shred it.

Get The Magic 6™ tools for your desk to implement your decisions and eliminate unnecessary paper

1. Wastebasket/recycle bin/shredder
2. Sorting trays on your desk for In, Out, and File.
3. Rolodex or electronic database for contact information
4. Calendar/electronic planner for appointments
5. File drawer or box for Action Files – things to do
6. File drawers or boxes for Reference Files – papers you want to keep

Organize your Action Files to prioritize your work and manage your time

Categorize them by date (a tickler file), by category of action (Date Entry), or by project name.

Create an Index for your Reference Files

A filing software program, such as Taming the Paper Tiger, creates a file index, prints labels, and allows you to cross reference files. You can also do a “Google search” for the paper files as well as electronic files in your own office.

An organizing service offered by Hagen called The 8-Hour Miracle™ guarantees three results: (1) you will know what to do with every piece of information from that day forward, (2) you will be able to find anything you file in five seconds, and (3) you will have a game plan for integrating whatever you didn’t handle during the eight hours into the new system.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

About the Author:

Elizabeth Hagen is a dynamic and inspiring productivity expert and speaker who has motivated thousands to take action and get organized. She is President of ElizabethHagen.com and works with overwhelmed people to help them get focused, organized, and more productive. Her newest book and manual “Organize with Confidence” will change your life! Subscribe to Elizabeth’s free ezine “Extraordinary Results” at http://www.ElizabethHagen.com and receive the “31 Tips to Simplify Your Life” as her gift to you.

Writing as Therapy

by

Laura Woodruff, LCSW

I have found writing to be such a good tool for emoting. It is such a great way to cleanse the soul! There are some things that are not appropriate for the blog, as we all know. So, I have had to find some other writing outlets! I just wanted to suggest to anyone that may be having rough times—- write, write, and write some more. I think some of the most beautiful writing is done in painful times. It can also be a great comfort to others as pain is a universal emotion we have all felt. So, when in pain—write, write, and write some more. I have also discovered that it feels better than eating, eating, and eating! So, those are my words of wisdom for others! I know, such a nugget of wisdom! Luckily, there is always humor too, which is also very helpful. I rely on humor a little too much. Thank goodness for kids and the rigors of life, that force you to forget about problems and delve into reality. I never thought I would be thankful for poopy diapers, but sometimes the mundane can be a relief from reality. Frightening but true. These are my thoughts for today!

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Laura is a 35 year-old mother of five who lives in Utah. You can check out her blog by clicking here.

“Research from Arizona State University has shown that writing could lower your cholesterol and give you a healthier heart. Yes, by simply WRITING. It seems that if you write affectionately about loved ones for 20 minutes, 3 times a week you could receive this added bonus of a reduced cholesterol level.”

Can this be so? I cannot at this time find the original study, so in mulling this over, I find myself reflecting on Miller’s Law of communication: “Assume the communication is true and then imagine what it can be true of.”

My take on this blog entry, when I assume the presented information to be true, generates theses reactions:

• Stress can influence cholesterol levels. (read more)
• Expressive writing can lower stress because such writing often results in disclosure, emerging insights, and the ability to reframe and learn from what has happened to us.
• When we write to honor others, we honor ourselves. This can raise self-esteem and lower or prevent depression–a very bad emotion for heart health.

Most of all, this news underscores that we can use a writing practice to help ourselves prevent illness and distress which trumps having to turn to writing to recover from illness and distress.