Posted by: Brenda Kula | June 25, 2008

Turns out…blogging is good for your health. Says this week’s Newsweek magazine.

Yep, mine came in the mail yesterday, and I read it last night. I have to keep up to date on all the political news. And then I run across this article.

So if you think you need to see a shrink, maybe you should just start a blog. (Now I’m not saying it should take the place of seeing a mental health practitioner.) But the writer says data shows it’s sort of like entering the confessional. Sans the priest.

Of course, common sense tells you that whenever you’re being creative, it is positive stimulation for the brain. Creating makes one happy, thus less depressed. I know whenever I "do-over" something, it makes me feel as though I’ve had a little jolt of caffeine. Or chocolate. It gives me that "feel good" sweetness that nothing else can. And blogs are an outlet for our creativity. And creativity spawns more creativity.

So it makes perfect sense to me. You’re communicating, which is vital for all mammals. But it isn’t as intimate as say, sitting across from someone in a restaurant. Or being in a confessional. You don’t have to worry about what you are wearing. The person reading your blog doesn’t know if you wrote the whole thing in your pajamas. The best of both worlds. You make friends. The whole world is at your fingertips. There is nowhere you can’t go from the comfort of your own home, as long as there is internet access available.

Just musing here…but what about the soldiers coming back from Iraq? Many have PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), and thus find communicating with others difficult. Last week on the evening news I saw where they’re matching up soldiers with PTSD with dogs trained to sense their moods and emotions. One soldier said it changed his life; made him able to deal with going out into the world.

We don’t have adequate mental health services for these soldiers coming back from battle, says all the officials responsible for such matters. We’re saving many more lives in this war than in any other war, due to the technological advances of our time. Therefore more service men and women are coming home, and having to learn to cope with what they’ve endured and seen.

So maybe we need to nudge them toward Blogland. Give them a place to put their feelings and memories and emotions. Safely. Tell the rest of the world what it’s like to walk in their shoes. In a place where civilians routinely strap bombs to their backs.

Can you imagine what men and women coming home from Iraq have bottled up inside?

I, for one, think it’s a good place to start as a source of very cheap rehab. Perhaps it won’t take the place of conventional therapy. But hey, it might help.

I’d like to hear other’s views of what blogging does for them. Leave me a comment.

And…totally off topic here…

I have quite a few Crepe Myrtle trees in my yard. But this one at the back, it blooms in both white and lilac! Has anyone ever seen one do this before? It’s eerie.

…That’s one creative tree!

Posted in News

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Responses

1. Blogging… good for mental health. I can see that. It definitely has been the cause for me to get out of my everyday normal routine & do something. The only down side for me, is that now, I want to hog the home computer as much as the kids & the hubby. but so far so good. xoxo, Joanna
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   By: Joanna on June 25, 2008

   
   

   at 4:40 pm

   
   


2. I kept a journal for many many years, it was sort of like bloging but to myself,I really needed it when my mother in law came to live with us 5 years ago,she has the beginnings dementia or alzheimers,and in the beginning it was not easy ,I love her to bits she is a sweet person but in moving into our home the dynamics of our relationship changed she resented me and was using my hubby to her advantage,lets just say it wasen’t easy,(read between the lines here) and my little journal gave me a place to vent without hurting anyone,it really helped me as I would re-read my noted.I find blogging is not quite the same of course,but its a place where you can say how you feel and its a bit of a release and no one judges, and everyone is so encouraging.I am not comfortable enough to say everything that goes going my life but neither is anyone else.Blogging is great fun for now and I am enjoying it and the different people I get to interact with here.
   

   Diane

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   By: Diane ( Crafty Passions) on June 25, 2008

   
   

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3. What a great post! I have to agree with this article completely. I am an outgoing person when it comes to complete srangers but am actually completely and totally shy. Blogging has been a way to express myself, share my creativity with others and even share some rather intimate feelings (although when I do this I always think “Why did I just post that!”)The positive comments I receive and reading others blogs and the lives they share has given me a new taste of self confidence I have never known. It has been good for me in so many ways and I have met so many wonderful people I now consider friends- you being one of them. Blogging must be very good for me because my husband not only loves it and supports it but he encourages it! He must have seen a change since I started it!! LOL!!
   

   -Heather

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   By: Heather on June 25, 2008

   
   

   at 5:27 pm

   
   


4. It is mainly to see my progress on record. I have tons of projects that’s been collecting dusts in my basement…
   

   This is a good topic, Brenda. Thanks for bringing this up.

   
   

   Hugs,

   
   

   Connie

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   By: Connie on June 25, 2008

   
   

   at 5:28 pm

   
   


5. It is mainly to see my progress on record. I have tons of projects that’s been collecting dusts in my basement…
   

   This is a good topic, Brenda. Thanks for bringing this up.

   
   

   Hugs,

   
   

   Connie

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   By: Connie on June 25, 2008

   
   

   at 5:28 pm

   
   


6. What a wonderful post Brenda and I totally agree with the article and you. I never would have met so many wonderful new friends (like you) without the world of blogging. Like your poor foot I tore my hamstring Mother’s Day (slipping on a wet floor). You never saw such a bruised up (dark purple) leg. I iced and elevated for 2 weeks. I can walk decently now but I don’t think it will ever be right again. ~ Lynn
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   By: Lynn @ theVintageNest on June 25, 2008

   
   

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7. What a wonderful post Brenda and I totally agree with the article and you. I never would have met so many wonderful new friends (like you) without the world of blogging. Like your poor foot I tore my hamstring Mother’s Day (slipping on a wet floor). You never saw such a bruised up (dark purple) leg. I iced and elevated for 2 weeks. I can walk decently now but I don’t think it will ever be right again. ~ Lynn
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   By: Lynn @ theVintageNest on June 25, 2008

   
   

   at 6:30 pm

   
   


8. Too funny about the tree. I once saw a dogwood with both white and pink blooms.
   

   Blogging – it’s a good thing.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   By: Beverly on June 25, 2008

   
   

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9. makes sense to me, although sometimes, finding time to blog can be hazardous to my mental health!
   

   love the crepe myrtle! That’s really cool!

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   By: linda on June 25, 2008

   
   

   at 6:58 pm

   
   


10. Great post, Brenda! I’ve written my thoughts down since I was in high school, and blogging has made it possible to share personal things with others, somewhat anonymously, if you will. And there’s a certain freedom in that. I know you get that.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: Nancy Bond on June 25, 2008

    
    

    at 7:05 pm

    
    


11. What a great post, Brenda! Wonderfully inspiring. I know that blogging has helped me immensely. It is bringing me out of myself. As another poster said, I have kept a journal for years, but here I get encouragement from others. I find that so many of us boost others. Such love, and understanding, remind us that we are more alike than different.
    

    Thanks for the post!

    
    

    CurtissAnn

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: CurtissAnn on June 25, 2008

    
    

    at 9:49 pm

    
    


12. Well Brenda,
    

    First of all, I’m going to show your post to my husband – no wonder I’m so mentally healthy

    
    

    I love to blog because I so enjoy meeting people with the same likes and people that I would not have met – some live across our country, some across the world.

    
    

    I can’t imagine with the veteran’s either, but do know the love of an animal is fantastic and there’s nothing like it in the world. Unconditional love for sure. Thanks for sharing and I so glad to have met you months ago sweetie!

    
    

    Happy night,

    
    

    xo~Tracie

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: Tracie on June 25, 2008

    
    

    at 9:52 pm

    
    


13. I know blogging has made me a happier person! I had no idea how much fun this would be when I started my blog! It’s one of the best things I’ve done in my life!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: cindy ~ My Romantic Home on June 25, 2008

    
    

    at 10:54 pm

    
    


14. Brenda, I’m so glad to know this and wanted you to know I’ve started one too! Today was my first post! Maybe I’ll learn something or just not go too crazy! Come visit me sometimes.
    

    Shelia

    
    

    NoteSongs.blogspot.com

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: Shelia on June 26, 2008

    
    

    at 6:26 pm

    
    


15. Well that’s good to see! My twenty~somethings think that I am too old to blog~lol! I love your crepe myrtles(sp?). I have a few in my yard but they never seem to bloom for some reason? ~Janet~
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: Janet on June 26, 2008

    
    

    at 8:29 pm

    
    


16. Totally agree- blogging will let you, on a daily basis, get in touch with people with similiar ideas, passions & hobbies…and introduce you to things you may never have thought of- and its all personal, because unlike a book or magazine- you can instantly get in touch with the writer of the blog
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: Beth Leintz on June 27, 2008

    
    

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17. Dear Brenda … my life has been on hold tending my ailing sister. Blogging has given me a ’simple sense of self’. *BIG HUGS*
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: joey on June 27, 2008

    
    

    at 10:51 pm

    
    


18. I think its a great idea too(-: My sons friend just got done serving his time in the Marines. He was in Iraq for a year.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: cindee on June 28, 2008

    
    

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19. Hi Brenda
    

    I agree that blogging is a great thing to do, because it lets you talk about all your feelings and about things going on in your life that your family is pretty sick of hearing LOL

    
    

    I can just blah blah blah and feel so much better, especially when someone understands and many do

    
    

    Great post!

    
    

    Oh and I love all your gardening ideas for the house. You can be my long distance go to landscaper when the time comes

    
    

    hugs,

    
    

    rue

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    By: rue on June 29, 2008

    
    

    at 10:57 am