"Precious" and the Power of Writing
Psychology Today blog: Brainstorm
By Carlin Flora
November 5, 2009
The science behind the new movie "Precious."
You may have heard of the stirring new film Precious, starring Gabourey Sidibe as an obese 16-year-old girl in late-1980's Harlem, pregnant (for the second time) with her own father's child, and a victim of shockingly cruel abuse at the hands of her mother, played by Mo'Nique.
It would be difficult to conceive of a child in worse circumstances than Precious, who, in addition to all her other problems, has trouble explaining her situation to the few adults who could potentially help her.
But a turning point occurs when Precious starts attending a small alternative school, where her teacher encourages her to write every day (even though Precious can barely read.) Expressing herself gives Precious the energy and confidence to seek out other options in life; she essentially writes her way out of her personal hell.
The movie is based on a work of fiction (Push by Sapphire,) but the healing power of journal writing is very real, having been shown in many studies. James W. Pennebaker, the most prominent researcher in this field of study, had undergrads write about either superficial topics or personal traumas four days a week, for six weeks. Those who wrote about painful times reported better moods and better health than those who scribbled about mundane happenings.
Follow-up studies by Pennebaker, Joshua M. Smyth and other psychologists have linked disclosure of personal feelings in writing to physical and mental benefits. Laid-off workers who wrote about their trials were more likely to find new jobs than a control group, asthma and arthritis patients who wrote about a stressful event just once were more likely to report health improvements than fellow patients who wrote about a neutral event, and people who wrote about a stressful time made fewer visits than average adults to health clinics over the next 15 months. Those who jot down what they ate in a food diary lost more weight than a control group, and women who wrote about past traumatic experiences slept better than those who didn't.
A diary lifted Precious out of her muck, and the evidence is strong that keeping one could help all of us shore up our immune systems and our inner resources.
Carlin Flora is the Features Editor at Psychology Today
Psychology Today blog: Brainstorm
By Carlin Flora
November 5, 2009
The science behind the new movie "Precious."
You may have heard of the stirring new film Precious, starring Gabourey Sidibe as an obese 16-year-old girl in late-1980's Harlem, pregnant (for the second time) with her own father's child, and a victim of shockingly cruel abuse at the hands of her mother, played by Mo'Nique.
It would be difficult to conceive of a child in worse circumstances than Precious, who, in addition to all her other problems, has trouble explaining her situation to the few adults who could potentially help her.
But a turning point occurs when Precious starts attending a small alternative school, where her teacher encourages her to write every day (even though Precious can barely read.) Expressing herself gives Precious the energy and confidence to seek out other options in life; she essentially writes her way out of her personal hell.
The movie is based on a work of fiction (Push by Sapphire,) but the healing power of journal writing is very real, having been shown in many studies. James W. Pennebaker, the most prominent researcher in this field of study, had undergrads write about either superficial topics or personal traumas four days a week, for six weeks. Those who wrote about painful times reported better moods and better health than those who scribbled about mundane happenings.
Follow-up studies by Pennebaker, Joshua M. Smyth and other psychologists have linked disclosure of personal feelings in writing to physical and mental benefits. Laid-off workers who wrote about their trials were more likely to find new jobs than a control group, asthma and arthritis patients who wrote about a stressful event just once were more likely to report health improvements than fellow patients who wrote about a neutral event, and people who wrote about a stressful time made fewer visits than average adults to health clinics over the next 15 months. Those who jot down what they ate in a food diary lost more weight than a control group, and women who wrote about past traumatic experiences slept better than those who didn't.
A diary lifted Precious out of her muck, and the evidence is strong that keeping one could help all of us shore up our immune systems and our inner resources.
Carlin Flora is the Features Editor at Psychology Today