As the number of studies increased, it became clear that writing was a far more powerful tool for healing than anyone had ever imagined.

Holding back our thoughts, feelings and behaviors can place people at risk for minor and major diseases.

One of the most interesting results was part of a study my students and I conducted dealing with status in email correspondence. Basically, we discovered that in any interaction, the person with the higher status uses I-words less (yes, less) than people who are low in status.

Human relationships are not rocket science--the are far, far more complicated

The emotional findings, then, suggest that to gain the most benefit from writing about life’s traumas, acknowledge the negative but celebrate the positive.