Therapeutic Writing

James G. Fausone
Veterans Disability Lawyer

When it comes to dealing with their emotions, all Veterans should be taking a page out of Mark Durfee’s book. Durfee, a 58 year old U.S. Navy Veteran, is encouraging his fellow former servicemen to join his creative writing club. The club focuses on allowing Veterans to express themselves through poetry and speak about their writing.

 A poet since he was a teen, Durfee believes that writing down one’s emotions and speaking with others about those words allows for a type of therapeutic healing that many Veterans seek.

“The idea is to be a bottle opener and let some of that steam out”, Durfee stated, when asked about his method.

So does it really work? According to a 2007 UCLA study, neuroscientists have found that writing down your emotions can significantly reduce feelings of sadness, anger, or depression. “It’s similar to the way you hit the brakes when you see a yellow light….” stated Matthew D. Lieberman, Associate Professor of Psychology at UCLA, “Seeing your feelings in written words can hit the brakes on your emotional responses.”

Durfee’s club doesn’t work strictly with poetry; short stories, journals, and other writings are all warmly welcomed with no writing experience required. Durfee’s program is being offered at no charge by Westland's William P. Faust Library. The next session is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 18. Participants can register by calling (734) 326-6123.

To learn more and see the original article, please visit: http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20120405/NEWS24/204050551/Veteran-starts-writing-group-fellow-vets?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Westland|s

To see the 2007 UCLA psychological study, please visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070622090727.htm