I guess I will rise, but in what form will I be? I guess I need not get wrapped up in the form of my return and only be confident that some form will rise from these desperate ashes full of that urge and urge and urge………… blog entry by Jason Walker.

For the last three months SF State English instructor Jason Walker has been chronicling his battle against advanced cancer in his blog entitled “Jason’s Deep Breath.”

Walker is among the many people who have found writing to be one of the best tools available to heal the effects of trauma. “Make Health Happen: Training Yourself to Create Wellness,” a book co-written by Erik Peper, an SF State professor and co-director of the Institute for Holistic Healing at SF State confirms that writing about a trauma allows the writer to “reframe, to accept, to integrate, and to gain insight so that healing may occur.”

“The ability to just write about this struggle has helped me cope and make it real,” Walker said.

Creative Writing senior Michael Kelley said he believes that writing helped him heal during his parents’ divorce when he was younger.

“When you’re angry or sad and you go to your notebook there is always a blank page there to listen to whatever you have to say,” said Kelley.

A 1988 study performed by James Pennebaker, a professor at Southern Methodist University revealed that disclosing troubling thoughts can result in better emotional and physical health

In Pennebaker’s study, 50 undergraduate students were assigned to write for 20 minutes for four consecutive days. The subjects were instructed to write about either a traumatic event or a superficial topic.

The study found that the students who wrote about trauma experienced more positive moods and fewer illnesses compared to those who wrote about trivial topics. The positive effects included improvements in immune function and lasted for six weeks. Similarly, students who wrote about the trauma of coming to college decreased their health center visits by half.

Some subjects felt bodily discomfort, anxiety and sleeplessness immediately following their journals entries, but after a maximum of four days gained an increased sense of well-being.

Business Management junior, Amanda Disperati, 20, found comfort in her writing when she went through a devastating break-up with her boyfriend of five years. Her journaling not only relieved her stress, but also gave her an additional outlet to vent her feelings.

“When I would go cry to my mom or sister I felt like I was showing a side of weakness, but my writing helped,” Disperati said. “I could then spend time with (them) without having to be upset.”

Andrew Lam, a former SF State student and editor with the Pacific News Service, said he doesn’t know if writing can fully heal someone, but he does believe that it can give shape to one’s internal struggles.

“I was a refugee from Vietnam and writing helped me find some sense of what happened,” Lam said.

In his book, Peper and co-authors Katherine Hughes-Gibney and Catherine Holt discuss the negative effects of keeping traumatic feelings to oneself. Holding back these thoughts can turn into a “pattern of bracing the body,” which can cause short term biological changes and longer term health consequences.

Kelley compares writing to “taking a deep breath,” and thinks that too often people in our culture ignore tough emotions and bottle them up.

“Writing helps one bring their issues to the forefront of their mind so they can be processed and overcome rather than ignored,” Kelley said.

By writing about his journey Walker has been given the outlet to express his innermost hurdles and triumphs to all who read it.

“I’m going to kick cancer’s ass, or at least kick ass going out,” wrote Walker.