01 Sep The best remedy for sadness is happiness
by Shadra Bruce for Mental Health News
While nearly half of all marriages will end with divorce, pre-marital relationships, at least once in every person_ã_s life, almost always end in break up. Every person who becomes involved in a relationship will eventually and inevitably experience the dissolution of the relationship.
Positive psychology can be used to mend broken hearts, and one study has shown that engaging in positive writing about the relationship immediately after the breakup occurs can help assuage the negative or damaging feelings experienced during breakup, demonstrating that the power of positive psychology can be more powerful than medication.
Writing as therapy is not a new concept, but it has most often been applied to other types of circumstances, such as sexual abuse and rape. However, the power of writing can be a very useful tool in overcoming heartache. The most extraordinary discovery revealed by the research was that negative writing, or writing about negative aspects of the relationship, did not positively impact the participants. It was positive writing and writing about positive aspects of the relationship that most contributed to the healing process.
The researchers, from Monmouth University in New Jersey, believe that the broader implications of positive writing will lead to better therapeutic use of the tool. More research, explains lead researcher Gary W. Lewandowski, Jr., _ã–Might also examine if more specific writing instructions in the positive condition (e.g., focusing on perceived benefits or reinterpretation) can produce even more increases in positive emotions or in other positive outcomes such as personal growth._ã Lewandowski believes that positive writing techniques could be used to assist people working through grief, divorce, and other negative experiences.
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