Blogging--It's Good For You

The therapeutic value of {running a blog|writing a blog|blogging and site-building} becomes a focus of study

By Jessica Wapner on June 1, 08
Self-medication {could be the|might be the|can be the} reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic {great things about|benefits associated with} {talking about|authoring} personal experiences, thoughts and {emotions|thoughts}. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, significant writing produces many physical benefits. Research shows that it {boosts|increases} memory and sleep, boosts immune cellular activity and reduces virus-like load in AIDS patients, and even speeds {curing|treating|recovering} after surgery. A {research|review|analysis} in the February concern of the Oncologist {reviews|studies|records} that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment {experienced|sensed|believed} markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

Scientists now {wish to|aspire to} explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially {thinking about the|taking into consideration the|with the} {surge|exploding market|huge increase} of blogs. According to Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the placebo theory of {hurting is|fighting is|anguish is} one window through which to view {running a blog|writing a blog|blogging and site-building}. As social creatures, humans have a range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a "placebo for getting satisfied, " Flaherty says. Blogging about stressful {activities|experience} might work similarly.

Flaherty, who studies conditions such as hypergraphia (an {unmanageable|unrestrainable|irrepressible} urge to write) and writer's block, also appears to disease models to {describe|make clear} the drive {at the rear of|in back of|lurking behind} this mode of communication. For example, {individuals with|people who have} {odio|pallino|fila} often talk too much. "We believe something in the brain's limbic system is boosting their {wish to|prefer to|aspire to} communicate, " Flaherty {clarifies|points out|talks about}. Located mainly in the midbrain, the limbic system controls our drives, whether or not they are related to food, {love-making|making love|gender}, appetite, or {solving problems|problem solver|find solutions to problems}. "You know that drives are involved [in blogging] because {a great deal|a whole lot} {of men and women|of folks} do it compulsively, " Flaherty notes. {Likewise|As well}, blogging might trigger dopamine release, {just like|comparable to|a lot like} stimulants like music, running and looking at art.

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The frontal and temporal {bougie|flambeau}, which govern speech--no dedicated writing center is hardwired in the brain--may also figure in. For example, lesions in Wernicke's area, {positioned in|found in} the left {temporary|provisional, provisory|eventual} lobe, {bring about|cause} excessive {conversation|talk|presentation} and loss of {vocabulary|terminology|dialect} comprehension. {Individuals with|People who have} Wernicke's aphasia speak in gibberish and often write constantly. In light of these {characteristics|qualities|attributes}, Flaherty speculates that some activity in this area could foster the to blog.

Scientists' understanding about the neurobiology underlying {restorative|healing|beneficial} writing must remain risky for now. Attempts to image the brain before and after writing have yielded minimal information because the active regions {can be found|are situated} so deep inside. {Latest|Modern} fmri studies have shown that the mind {lamps|lighting|signals} up differently before, during and after writing, {records|paperwork|remarks} James Pennebaker, {a psychiatrist|a psycho therapist} at the University of Texas at Austin. {Yet|Nevertheless|Although} Pennebaker and others {stay|continue to be} skeptical about the value of such images {as they are|since they are} hard to duplicate and quantify.

Most likely, writing activates a cluster of neurological pathways, and several researchers are committed to uncovering them. {In the|On the|With the} {University or college|College or university|School} of Arizona, psychologist and neuroscientist Richard Lane {desires|hope|dreams} to make brain-imaging techniques more relevant by using those techniques to {research|review|analysis} the neuroanatomy of {thoughts} and the expressions. Nancy Morgan, lead author of the Oncologist study, is looking to conduct {bigger|greater|much larger} community-based and trials of expressive writing. And Pennebaker is continuing {to check into|to look at|to review} the link between expressive writing and biological changes, such as improved sleep, that are integral to health. "I think the {rest|sleeping} angle is one of the more promising ones, " he says.

{No matter the|No matter what|Long lasting} underlying causes may be, people coping with {malignancy|tumor|cancers} diagnoses and other serious conditions are increasingly seeking--and finding--solace in the blogosphere. "Blogging undoubtedly affords similar benefits" to expressive writing, says Morgan, who {desires|would like|wishes} to incorporate writing programs into supportive {take care of|look after|maintain} {malignancy|tumor|cancers} patients.

Some hospitals have started hosting patient-authored {sites|websites} on their Web sites as clinicians {commence|get started} to recognize the therapeutic value. Unlike a bedside {diary|record|log}, blogging {provides the|supplies the} added {good thing about|benefit for} receptive readers in similar situations, Morgan explains: "Individuals are connecting to each other and witnessing each other's expressions--the basis for forming a community. {inch|inches|very well}

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{This post was|This information was|This content was} {formerly|at first} {imprinted|published|branded} with the title, "The Healthy Type".

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Jessica Wapner is a freelance writer {located in|situated in|operating out of} Fresh York City.