Writing, reading or listening to poetry can be beneficial for mental health, study says

One of the best breakup advice my friend Genna gave me during a tumultuous breakup from a long-term relationship was to write poetry.

Feeling hopeless in my broken heart, I was willing to try anything. As Emily Dickinson wisely advised:

Not knowing when the dawn will come

I open all doors

I wrote over two dozen poems over the next few weeks. Artistically speaking, they were a very poor display, but as a tool for processing the big emotions of a difficult time, the poems were hugely successful. Writing them was cathartic and at times revealing.

Many years later—and with a fully healed heart, I am happy to report—emerging scientific research into the wellness potential of poetry supports my personal experience.

Interested in the effectiveness of poetry in combating loneliness, particularly during the initial period of isolation from the Covid-19 pandemic, David Haosen Xiang and Alisha Moon Yi wrote a 2020 article in the Journal of Medical Humanities inspired by their experience in leading poetry workshops.

Xiang and Yi, then students at Harvard Medical School and Harvard College respectively, cited a number of studies (some with small sample sizes, admittedly) showing various health benefits of reading, writing and listening to poetry and creative nonfiction.

They have been shown to combat symptoms of stress and depression, as well as reduce pain, both chronic and post-surgery, the authors point out. Poetry has also been shown to improve mood, memory and work performance.

Separately, a 2021 study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that a group of 44 hospitalized children who were encouraged to read and write poetry saw reductions in fear, sadness, anger, worry and fatigue. Poetry was a welcome distraction from stress and an opportunity for self-reflection, the researchers concluded.

Spoken word poet Sekou Andrews demonstrated the power words can have in difficult times, when you can feel broken, at the recent Life Itself conference, a health and wellness event presented in partnership with CNN .

In a “poetic voice” performance, he shared with the audience a story about his and his wife’s struggles and loss of infertility. As Andrews explained onstage:

Every inspiration really is a peephole into possibility.

There’s a wall and suddenly something shakes it, breaks it,

And there’s a crack that appears

And you can see something on the other side.

And there is power in simply being able to say:

“I see that!”

“Whether dealing with pain, dealing with stressful situations, or accepting uncertainty, poetry can benefit a patient’s well-being, confidence, emotional stability, and quality of life,” Xiang and Yi wrote.

Why poetry is special

Poetry’s ability to provide comfort and improve mood during times of stress, trauma, and grief can have a lot to do with framing and perspective.

As a creative device, poems slow down our reaction to an experience and can alter our perception of it in ways that help us find new angles, go deeper. It can strengthen our sense of self and connect us to the experiences of others to foster empathy.

“I always say you don’t hire the poet to hit the nail on the head for you,” Andrews explained in an email. “You hire the poet to whisper in your ear, tap you on the shoulder, make you turn around and see a version of yourself that is unexpected, surprising and inspiring.”

The medium also has a unique way of getting to the heart of the matter – “Poetry is truth in its Sunday clothes,” wrote French poet Joseph Roux – as metaphors and imagery are particularly suited to exploring and synthesizing emotions.

“And the abstract nature of poetry can make it easier to look closely at painful experiences, which can seem too threatening to address directly and literally,” Linda Wasmer Andrews wrote in an article on the practice of poetic therapy in psychology.

Poetry can also provoke peak emotional responses. In a 2017 study, researchers measured 27 people for their psychophysiological responses (such as chills or shivers) to listening to poetry read aloud. These physical responses are connected to the reward-sensing area of ​​the brain, the study explained.

In his poem “For Now,” John O’Donohue describes this kind of brain alchemy:

What is being transfigured here in your mind,
And it is difficult and slow to become new.
The more faithful you hold here,
More refined your heart will become
For your arrival at the new dawn.

Getting more poetry in your life

Read, write and listen. These are top choices for infusing your life with more poetry.

To get exposed to something new, visit open mic nights (live or in person), or try the daily (and short) poem podcast The Slowdown by American Public Media and the National Endowment for the Arts, or subscribe to a newsletter. There are other poetry podcasts as well.

And experience an affordable collection. Actor John Lithgow has compiled an introductory primer on the book “The Poets’ Corner: The One-and-Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family”. I personally love Shel Silverstein, Mary Oliver, Maya Angelou, Sharon Olds and John O’Donohue if you want to dig deep with a poet and have fun and enlighten yourself perpetually.

And to write it, you don’t need formal training to get started. You might like to experiment with different styles (like haiku) and experiments. The community-oriented website Read Poetry has a compelling guide to some creative exercises that you might find inspiring.

“Just write. Just speak. Don’t worry about being good to yourself, you’ll get there. First, just let it be good for you,” Andrews said.

But no matter how you get involved, just get in there and start feeling what you need. Or as the poet Billy Collins wrote in “Introduction to Poetry”:

…walk inside the poem’s room

and feel the walls for a light switch.