'Sometimes by taking myself out of a real life incident, examining it through the third person of a fictional character, can make everything much easier to deal with afterwards in real life.' Survey respondent
Nearly 3,000 women writers took part in our survey about creativity and mental health and the results confirmed findings from decades of previous research: that we writers are more beset by mental health issues than non-writers – but that writing can be a form of self-help.
71% say that writing makes them feel more positive about life, 57% say it makes them less anxious or stressed and 42% say it reduces their depression.
'I worked on a poem while going through a period of mourning, during which I wept whenever I was alone. After the poem was completed, the weeping stopped.' Survey respondent
Let us know if you’d like to take part in future research.
There is a new Creativity and Wellbeing section in Mslexia magazine where we explore these issues in more detail.
