Written emotional expression produces health benefits in fibromyalgia patients

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Psychosom Med. 2005 Mar-Apr;67(2):326-34.

Written emotional expression produces health benefits in fibromyalgia

patients.

Broderick JE, Junghaenel DU, Schwartz JE.

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Putnam Hall, Stony Brook

University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8790.

Joan.Broderick@....

Objective: Written expression of traumatic experiences, an intervention

found to have health benefits in rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and breast

cancer, was tested in a randomized, controlled trial with female

fibromyalgia patients. It was hypothesized that relative to controls,

patients engaging in the writing intervention would experience improved

status on psychological well-being and physical health variables.

Methods: Patients (N = 92) were randomized into a trauma writing group, a

control writing group, or usual care control group. The two writing groups

wrote in the laboratory for 20 minutes on 3 days at 1-week intervals.

Psychological well-being, pain, and fatigue were the primary outcome

variables. Assessments were made at pretreatment, posttreatment, 4-month

follow-up, and 10-month follow-up.

Results: The trauma writing group experienced significant reductions in pain

(effect size [ES] = 0.49) and fatigue (ES = 0.62) and better psychological

well-being (ES = 0.47) at the 4-month follow-up relative to the control

groups. Benefits were not maintained at the 10-month follow-up.

Conclusion: Fibromyalgia patients experienced short-term benefits in

psychological and health variables through emotional expression of personal

traumatic experiences.