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Episode 116 · Stress & Emotion
Write the Loop Out
A private page can do something a busy mind cannot. It can give a looping thought one place to land. The point is not perfect sentences.
The Science
- Expressive writing means writing about a stressful or difficult experience for fifteen to thirty minutes.
- It works best with facts, feelings, and the links the mind keeps making, repeated across four sessions.
- Emotional activation plus truthful writing is a route for cognitive and physiological updating.
The Protocol
- Write privately for fifteen to thirty minutes without editing.
- Include facts, feelings then and now, and any links that come to mind.
- Repeat across four sessions, and decompress afterward.
One-page summary
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The science beat (5-sec loop)
Sources
- Confronting a traumatic event: toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
- Writing About Emotional Experiences as a Therapeutic Process. Psychological Science.
- Disclosure of traumas and immune function: Health implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
- Huberman, A. A Science-Supported Journaling Protocol to Improve Mental & Physical Health. Huberman Lab Podcast, November 23, 2023.
Educational content only. Not medical advice.
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