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BRITISH STUDY SHOWS REDUCED SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS WHO WRITE ABOUT TRAUMATIC EVENTS | |
| Contact Presenter: Dr. Mark A Wetherell Phone: 44 011 7928722 Email: mark.wetherell@bristol.ac.uk Lead Researcher: Dr. Kav Vedhara Phone: 44 011 79 928 7243 Embargoed until: March 6, 2004 |
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Orlando, FL - Writing about personally traumatic events can help to relieve the physical and psychological symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. This is the finding of a study directed by Dr Vedhara and conducted by Drs Wetherell and Byrne-Davis, research psychologists at the MRC Health Services Research Collaboration in the UK. The results of this study were presented at the American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting, held March 3-6 in Orlando, Florida. The process of writing about traumatic events, known as emotional disclosure, involves writing about personally traumatic events for about 20 minutes on four consecutive days. This simple process has resulted in improved mood and enhanced immunity in healthy participants. The research team assessed whether this process could help to relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. The investigation involved comparing physical and psychological symptoms in patients who either wrote about personally traumatic events or who took part in a neutral task involving writing about what they had done that day. Patients who wrote about traumatic events had fewer physical symptoms and more positive mood than those who took part in the neutral task. The greatest improvements were observed in those patients who, through writing, were able to sort through their trauma and learn to cope with it better. Holding onto a traumatic event causes tension, which can increase the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. If you release this tension, your symptoms can then be reduced. The research group now plans to explore which people benefit most from emotional disclosure and to examine whether the process can be used to help other patient groups. | |
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Psychosomatic Medicine is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Psychosomatic Society, published bimonthly. For information about the journal, contact Vicki White, Managing Editor for Manuscript Production,
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