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There’s a lot to unpack here.
On a personal level, reading and writing poetry has always provided a safe path for me to navigate through various states of emotional distress. Maybe it’s the delicate way its rhyme and rhythm create color and form out of strings of nameless, complicated, and at times overwhelming emotions. Poetry pushes me into introspection, allowing me to make sense of my thoughts and feelings. After all, you can’t heal from something you can’t name.
Poetry Heals
From a scientific perspective, there is some concrete evidence of the therapeutic effects of poetry. It inspired the publication of a medical journal article that examines poetry as a tool in alleviating loneliness that poses significant health issues, especially at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A more recent study conducted in a pediatric hospital environment concluded that reading and writing poetry, although do not diminish pain, significantly reduce feelings of fear, sadness, anger, worry, and fatigue.
Reading a poem can instantly boost our emotions with its syllabic rhythm; it can also create an instant connection with its lyrical content that effectively frees us from feelings of isolation. Writing poetry stimulates the release of repressed thoughts and allows us to articulate complex emotions…
