Dear ,
From the moment I began the interview with Lucia, I knew it was something special. Lucia Capacchione, PhD, was an extraordinary thinker, art therapist and pioneer in the fields of expressive arts therapy and journal therapy. Her knowledge of these topics was wide and deep.
Her interview is the most shared episode
on The Power of Journaling Podcast.
(Listening links are at the bottom of this email.)
From first-hand experience, Lucia knew the power of journaling, and she credits the practice with saving her life. At age 35, Lucia became so ill that she was bedridden. The medications prescribed did not help, and her condition remained a medical mystery for many years. In desperation, she turned to the journal she had just begun keeping. It was there that she could unload the anxiety and confusion she was feeling.
Lucia began to write her feelings out and grew fascinated as she realized the ways journaling contributed to her growth and understanding. In time, the source of Lucia’s ill health was discovered. She recovered and went on to become an art therapist. When she began this work, she immediately started assigning clients journaling prompts as a means to tap into their subconscious. Her book The Creative Journal features the prompts she used along with art from her students and clients.
Journaling Improves Health
Having survived her own health crisis, Lucia became interested in James Pennebaker’s groundbreaking research that showed journaling’s impact on the immune system.
(https://journaling.com/expressive-writing-a-tool-for-transformation-with-dr-james-pennebaker-ph-d/)
Dr. Pennebaker asked one group of people to journal about trivial events while a second group was asked to journal about personal crisis and trauma. Blood tests were administered before and after the writing sessions. Those who wrote about a crisis were found to have heightened immunity whereas no changes were detected in the blood of those who had jotted down trivial events of the day.
Since this finding, there have been a multitude of studies that show the impact of journaling on physical health, including one that showed patients who journal before surgery heal more quickly. Lucia explained that when our emotions are not released they become somatized. Journaling helps us connect with and extract strong emotions so that they do not make us ill. This ties in perfectly with my own PhD research, The Calm Mind Study, which looked at the Notice Name Relax Release (NNRR) technique.
Writing with Your Non-Dominant Hand
Lucia explains that the value of journaling with the non-dominant hand is it provides access to the right side of the brain which specializes in emotional expression and intuition. When we write with our non-dominant hand, we use both sides of the brain.
Manage Anxiety and Depression
Lucia’s work proves that strong emotions and feelings can be released by drawing them out. To combat anxiety and depression she suggested drawing a picture of the issues you wrestle with. Do this with your non-dominant hand.
You’re going to LOVE this next part
For example, a person who is feeling boxed in, Lucia suggests, would draw an image of themselves in a box. Next, they engage in a dialogue with the image. It would look something like this:
Dominant hand writes: What are you?
Non-dominant hand answers: I’m you stuck in a box.
Dominant hand writes: How do you feel?
Non-dominant hand answers: I feel shut down. I feel locked up.
Dominant hand writes: What’s making you to feel this way?
Non-dominant hand answers: You are putting me in all of these different boxes and schedules. I’m tired.
Dominant hand writes: How can I help you?
Non-dominant hand answers: I want to stop doing things that don’t fulfill me. I want to start exercising and painting.
Manage Your Health
Lucia recommends similar methods when addressing physical health. She shows how we can talk to individual body parts to manage symptoms.
- Lie down. Notice the areas of your body where you experience discomfort.
- Draw a picture of your body, and color the areas where you experience pain.
- If there is pain in your shoulder talk with it:
- What are you?
- What’s causing this?
- What can be done about it?
Manage Relationships
In her book The Power of Your Other Hand, Lucia explains the physiology of writing with your non-dominant hand and shows how this can impact our relationships in significant ways.
- Sit down and imagine you are having a conversation with someone significant in your life.
- With your dominant hand, express your feelings: I’m angry that you walked away in the middle of our conversation last week.
- Put the pen in your non-dominant hand and write what the other person would say. I left because I was scared. I thought you were going to start blaming me.
In her work, Lucia observed that all kinds of insights come up using this method to help us better understand another person’s perspective.
Let me know if you try journaling with your non-dominant hand. I’d love to hear about your experience.
Lucia is no longer with us, but her work lives on. I am forever grateful I had a chance to meet her and learn from her. You can listen to my conversation with Lucia…
On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-power-of-journaling/id1550538439?i=1000506558766
On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/02AurllsTRL3eJWNOCyWUV?si=tYium37tRcGfuwFuYXCFSg
This is Rebecca @ Journaling.com
Sending you love and ambidextrous-ness
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