THE PARAGRAGH!!!
Everyone has heard the adage "Laughter is the best medicine." Researchers are finding that writing about one’s feelings can be effective medicine, too. People have been recording their feelings in diaries for centuries. Recent studies, though, suggest that such writing not only improves a person’s mood; it can also have a significant influence on their physical condition. Therefore, physicians should incorporate patient journaling as part of their treatment for any complaint or disease.
It is true that not all people benefit from diary-writing. Studies are still exploring how individual differences influence the health-related effectiveness of writing. It is also true that not all writing benefits a person's health. For example, it's not enough to simply write, "I feel bad" or "I hurt." To gain any health benefit, the writing must be expressive. In other words, a person must explore their feelings instead of only stating them. They must write sentences that begin along the lines of "I feel sad because..." This is the type of writing, often called journaling, that can improve one's health.
One way journaling improves health is by reducing stress and anxiety. Brain science has determined that each side of the human brain has different strengths. The left brain is rational and analytical. The right brain functions as a creative and emotional center. Journaling about stressful or anxious situations accesses the right brain. Doing so enables a person to clarify feelings and solve problems. Consistent journaling also helps the writer discover patterns of thought and behavior. According to Richard Petty, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University, "However you tag your thoughts—as trash or as worthy of protection—seems to make a difference in how you use those thoughts." Expressive writing can help not only identify but also change the way a person tags their thoughts. A 2011 study conducted in Spain, for example, found that writing helped teens get rid of negative thoughts. In the study, teens wrote down their negative thoughts about their bodies. This cleared the thoughts from their minds. Then they threw away what they wrote. As a result, the teens felt less stress and anxiety about their appearances.
Research suggests that journaling can also improve a person's physical well-being. It has proven to be particularly beneficial to people who have chronic diseases, such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease characterized by swelling in the joints. In one study, psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin asked patients to write expressively for twenty minutes a day for three consecutive days. In a medical check-up four months later, those patients had fewer and less severe symptoms. The control group, which had the same disease but did not write expressively, did not show such improvement.
In addition to reducing symptoms of existing diseases, expressive writing can also strengthen the body's ability to fight off disease. A person's immune system is responsible for fighting off viruses and other causes of illness. Doctors in New Zealand found that journaling strengthened immune function in patients with immune system disease. Another study linked journaling to a stronger response to a vaccine for a type of blood disease called Hepatitis B. The stronger response means the body will be more effective in fighting off the illness.
Journaling, therefore, can improve one's physical and emotional health. Further research is necessary to solidify how and why expressive writing has such an impact. Nevertheless, it is an option that all medical professionals should consider. Although journaling is not a replacement for traditional treatment methods such as therapy and medication, it is a supplemental tool to improve the effects of that treatment. It is not out of the question, then, to imagine a day when doctors might instruct a patient to "write two paragraphs and call me in the morning."
QUESTION!!!
Read the sentence below, which states the claim of the argument.
Therefore, physicians should incorporate patient journaling as part of their treatment for any complaint or disease.
Which of the following sentences is evidence that the author uses to support the claim?
A
“It is also true that not all writing benefits a person's health.”
B
“Journaling about stressful or anxious situations accesses the right brain.”
C
“In addition to reducing symptoms of existing diseases, expressive writing can also strengthen the body's ability to fight off disease.”
D
“Another study linked journaling to a stronger response to a vaccine for a type of blood disease called Hepatitis B.”