The Power of Our Words to Help Heal Our Rheumatoid Arthritis and Overall Health
I ran across an old article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) titled the “Effects of Writing About Stressful Experiences on Symptom Reduction in Patients with Asthma or Rheumatoid Arthritis.”
The article states "research has demonstrated that writing about emotionally traumatic experiences has a surprisingly beneficial effect on symptom reports, well-being, and health care use in individuals."1
Writing and RA symptom reduction
The study looked at individuals with mild to moderately severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who expressed themselves through written words, specifically individuals who wrote about the traumatic and stressful events that happened in their life.1
These individuals showed positive clinical changes and symptom reduction in their RA. The study revealed that these positive health changes were above and beyond the gains expected from standard medical care alone.1
The power of our words
The article just really got me thinking. I was extremely shy growing up and barely spoke. At a young age, I used dance and writing to help me to express myself. My mom always encouraged me.
She always said to me that there was power in my words. Honestly, she was my mom and also a school teacher. So, growing up I just chalked up what she said as a "mom" thing.
However, I think I finally understand what she was saying to me. The power of our words does not only help others to learn and become educated. Our words can also help free and heal us.
Life happens
At some point in my life, I stopped writing. Life has a way of presenting challenges to us along the way. We get busy and sometimes feel quite beat down by situations and life stressors.
Over 17 years ago, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis - a major game-changer in my life as many of you can relate to. Honestly, I felt so trapped and alone. I was diagnosed in my twenties. I found that there were not many people my age, or in general, who could relate to my life circumstances.
Finding freedom in my words
In December 2018, I had to abruptly stop my 18-year career as an occupational therapist due to my declining health. I went through severe hardships from 2018 to 2020. In 2020, I became a moderator and contributor for RheumatoidArthritis.net.
When most people think 2020, they think global pandemic. It is a year no one will forget, so many of us were impacted by it in so many different ways. However, when I think about the year 2020, I think about it as being the year my life started to get back on track.
I feel accepted and loved
This site and my RheumatoidArthritis.net family were so encouraging to me as I wrote about my experiences with RA and life. There is something so cathartic about expressing myself through written words. It has truly changed my life.
I no longer feel useless and like I don’t matter to this world anymore. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I feel accepted and loved for the first time in a really long time.
My challenge to you
I want to challenge all of you reading this article to write about your life experiences with RA. Please write about it all - the good, the bad, and especially the ugly parts.
I encourage you to write in a journal, a napkin, or to be super daring and to write your story here on RheumatoidArthritis.net. Click on the button to share your story. It can change your life. It did for me.
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