Neuroscience says: to feel better, write to these forums

[Sunnybayes]

Here's the neuroscience behind why putting your words into feelings makes you feel better:

And yet another reason to keep a journal.

Putting Feelings Into Words Produces Therapeutic Effects In The Brain

Science Daily — Why does putting our feelings into words -- talking with a therapist or friend, writing in a journal -- help us to feel better" A new brain imaging study by UCLA psychologists reveals why verbalizing our feelings makes our sadness, anger and pain less intense.

Combining Buddhist Teachings and Modern Neuroscience

After the participants left the brain scanner, 27 of them filled out questionnaires about "mindfulness." Mindfulness meditation, which is very popular in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, originates from early Buddhist teachings dating back some 2,500 years, said David Creswell, a research scientist with the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.

Mindfulness is a technique in which one pays attention to his or her present emotions, thoughts and body sensations, such as breathing, without passing judgment or reacting. An individual simply releases his thoughts and "lets it go."

"One way to practice mindfulness meditation and pay attention to present-moment experiences is to label your emotions by saying, for example, 'I'm feeling angry right now' or 'I'm feeling a lot of stress right now' or 'this is joy' or whatever the emotion is," said Creswell, lead author of the study, which will be featured in an upcoming issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, a leading international medical journal for health psychology research.

"Thinking, 'this is anger' is what we do in this study, where people look at an angry face and say, 'this is anger,'" Lieberman noted.

Creswell said Lieberman has now shown in a series of studies that simply labeling emotions turns down the amygdala alarm center response in the brain that triggers negative feelings.

tones more of other cool insights, take a look yourselves.

[Zukin]

Thank you, neuroscientists!

[Mark Lapierre]

Hmm, what might this say about the LoA (and EFT)?

[hzpim]

we all should express our sadness,anger,and other negative feelings out ,maybe ,we can accept other's positive advice to relax and comfort us.right?

happy everyday

[eblight]

Great research. Being in touch with our feelings and expressing them safely certainly allow us to accept that feelings are just that. It often helps us to feel a feeling with a knowing that we don't always have to act on or act out that particular feeling if it is inappropriate.

[songwriter]

yes, very much I write to "let it all out" and that's all. It's just saying my point of view, not trying to change minds at all. Not even to discuss.
That's why writing songs is therapeuthic. They are much more than words...
I even post quite simple silly lyrics somewhere to let some things out.

[songwriter]

Originally Posted by songwriter

yes, very much I write to "let it all out" and that's all. It's just saying my point of view, not trying to change minds at all. Not even to discuss.
That's why writing songs is therapeuthic. They are much more than words...
I even post quite simple silly lyrics somewhere to let some things out.

I've realized it helps me solve problems. Very often I wonder about a problem I have on the internet, not asking for solutions, just wondering... and the next day I come for the solution to the post of my "yesterday me" and I answer myself.