The power of the narrative: looking into the impact of creative writing when dealing with various traumatic experiences

Abstract

When dealing with a traumatic experience, a person may choose to cope in a variety of ways. One option is to write about the trauma, the feelings during the trauma, and the feelings before or after the trauma using some form of narrative writing. This could be through poetry, short stories, diary entries, letters, and so on. For some people, it can be difficult to voice their thoughts and feelings out loud to another person, so narrative writing allows an alternate way to express what may have happened. By using the words in the narrative writing, the person can disconnect from the trauma or see it in a new light that would be most beneficial to them. The most important part of this strategy is that the control of what happens next gets to be given to the individual because the person just underwent a traumatic experience that was likely out of their control. If the person decides to share the narrative writing though, it is important to recognize the potential impact on the receiving audience. It can be either potentially harmful or beneficial to those out there depending on their past experiences and how the narrative was received. There is the potential of causing harm to the audience members being exposed to it. The effects of a traumatic experience do not only affect those who were present for the event, but also anyone else who may be experiencing it second-hand.