So it seems my jaunt at liveblogging my labor and writing long thoughtful posts about motherhood from the delivery room might have actually had some therapeutic effect:
Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not. [emphasis mine]
(Take that, all you people who called me an addict!)
Some hospitals have started hosting patient-authored blogs on their Web sites as clinicians begin to recognize the therapeutic value. Unlike a bedside journal, blogging offers the added benefit of receptive readers in similar situations, Morgan explains: �Individuals are connecting to one another and witnessing each other�s expressions�the basis for forming a community.�
I’d add that blogging not only allows for the formation of community, a human need, but as I’ve experienced in the past few years, also can bring together specifically a community of believers, an experience of the supernatural reality of the Body of Christ. The prayers and support are real and can effect real healing. I’ve prayed for more individuals since I’ve been reading blogs and had more people praying for me. And have heard wonderful stories of people whose lives have changed and of miracle cures effected through the power of prayers generated through blogs.
Read the entire article: “Blogging, It’s Good For You”.
