How to do it
- Twenty minutes a day, five days running. That's what the trial used.
- Write what happened, what you're angry about, what worries you. The other group wrote their plans for the day, and did worse.
- Not to send. Tear it up afterwards if you like. Don't post it, and don't send it to your old boss.
- Then start the CV. Doing it in that order is my idea; the trial didn't test the order.
In your brainTap a word for what it means
- AmygdalaAmygdalaA small almond-shaped cluster of nerve cells, one deep in each side of the brain, often called the fear centre. It flags threats and other things that matter emotionally, including good ones, and can react before you have had time to think.Read morereacts to the upset
It flags threat and loss fast. In a scan study, naming the feeling in pictures of angry or scared faces went with less amygdala activity than other ways of looking at them.
- PrefrontalPrefrontal cortexThe front part of the brain's outer layer, behind the forehead, sometimes called the brain's CEO. It handles planning, decisions, self-control and keeping emotions in check, and works worse when you are short on sleep.Read moreputs it into words
Naming the feeling made one area at the front right of the brain more active. The more active it was, the quieter the amygdala.
- Writinghelps some more
In 111 students, brain responses while naming feelings predicted who got more out of expressive writing three months on.
- Youback in work sooner
In the one trial with laid-off professionals, the writers found full-time work sooner. That the steps above explain it is a guess.
Why it works
Psychologists call this expressive writing: putting your honest thoughts and feelings about something hard on paper, for nobody else. In a trial with 41 laid-off professionals, the ones picked at random to write about losing their job found new work sooner than those who wrote about their plans for the day. Evidence: worth trying
That's one study, a small one, from 1994. One small trial doesn't make a rule. It costs a pen and some paper, so it's worth a try. No more than that.
The long readEvery step of the chain, each study with its numbers, and what's still unproven. 2 min read.
What happens in your brain
These are separate findings, lined up. Nobody has scanned someone writing about losing a job.
The amygdala reacts. The amygdala flags threat and loss fast. In a scan study, people who named the feeling in pictures of angry or scared faces, rather than looking at them some other way, had less activity in the amygdala. Evidence: decent That's pictures in a lab, not a layoff.
The front of the brain puts it into words. Naming the feeling made one area on the right side of the prefrontal cortex more active. The more active it was, the less active the amygdala. Evidence: decent
Writing helps some people more. In a study of 111 students, 58 did expressive writing and 53 were a comparison group. Beforehand, all were scanned while naming the feelings in pictures of faces. Those same brain areas helped predict who felt better, in mood and in body, three months later. Evidence: worth trying
Back in work sooner. In the one trial with laid-off professionals, the writers found full-time work sooner. Evidence: worth trying Why, nobody knows. My guess: anger that's gone onto paper is less likely to leak into a cover letter or an interview. Evidence: worth trying
The proof
- 63 laid-off professionals from one computer company took part. 41 were split at random between writing about their thoughts and feelings about losing the job and writing about their plans for the day, 20 minutes a day for five days. By eight months later, 53% of the first group had full-time jobs against 24% of the second. Evidence: worth trying
- The other 22 couldn't make the sessions and didn't write at all. 14% of them had full-time jobs by eight months. They weren't picked at random. Evidence: worth trying
- A US Labor Department review of the trial reports that counting any work, part-time and contract included, the feelings writers weren't clearly ahead of the plans writers. Evidence: worth trying
- Across 146 trials of writing about hard experiences, the average effect was positive but small. Evidence: decent
How to do it
- Before you touch the CV, write for yourself about losing the job: what happened, what you're angry about, what worries you.
- Twenty minutes a day, five days running. That's what the trial used. Evidence: worth trying
- Tear it up afterwards if you like. Don't post it, and don't send it to your old boss.
Watch out
The people in the trial were aged 40 to 68, professionals with about twenty years at the same company. They'd been out of work for some months and already had outplacement help, so "before the CV" is my order, not theirs. Evidence: worth trying Across all the writing studies, the average effect is small. Evidence: decent
It can feel worse for a day before it feels better. Evidence: decent If it leaves you worse for days, stop, and talk to someone instead.