Poetry and Its Effect on Mental Health

Music always been therapeutic to the mind; it can help someone cope through a rough patch of their life. The lyrics of song made the listener feel relaxed, loose, or they aren’t alone. The same effect has been observed with poetry; the University of Exeter in 2013 has found significant similarities between the way the brain processes music and poetry. Both music and poetry can incite a “serious emotional response by triggering activity in the brain's emotional centers” (Thorpe). Poetry is capable of healing the mind through the use of spoken word poetry and therapeutic poems.

Spoken word poetry has been perceived to alleviate stress from the mind. In the article “The Power of Spoken Word Poetry,” there are inputs from different college students exclaiming the effect spoken word poetry had on them. One of the college students named Jeremey Johnson says “poetry gave me a positive outlet for some of my anger” (Steiber). Anger has a detrimental effect on the brain; since anger is a form of chronic stress, it “Generates long-term changes in the brain that may explain why people suffering chronic stress are to mental problems such as anxiety and mood disorders later in life”. Additionally, anger is capable of compromising the neurons in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is essentially the brain’s control center for stress responses; compromising the brain’s ability to induce a stress response can imperil the brain’s ability to slow down. Hence, when Johnson was able to release some of his pent up anger, he was healing himself from stress on his mind and potentially saved himself from anxiety and depression.

Spoken word poetry can be therapeutic by not only cleansing your mind of anger but also can help strong feelings like sadness less intense. Sarah Kay, an American poet well known for her spoken word poetry said that “spoken word teaches that you have the ability to express yourself and the courage to present those stories and opinions” (Kay). Kay’s statement is corroborated through many independent studies, such as the one conducted in the University of California, Los Angeles. A brain imaging study directed by psychologists in UCLA revealed that verbalizing our feelings can make our emotions less severe. Spoken word poetry is the epitome of verbalizing one’s feelings, therefore applies to spoken word poetry, hence reinforcing the idea that spoken word poetry is capable of healing the mind of strong emotions.

Writing poems has been proven to help those who have been struggling with a rough patch through their life. For these people, writing their thoughts down in the form of a poem on a sheet of paper seems to give them consolation. In a journal article, “My Tears See More Than My Eyes: My Son’s Depression and the Power of Art,” author Alan Shapiro writes an his depressed son finding solace through writing about the events in his life in the form of free styling in a mental facility. In the essay, Shapiro says “Rap gave a powerless boy a feeling of power. It also gave him a feeling of community — a community of outcasts and victims — in the midst of extreme isolation” (Shapiro). Therefore, free-styling, is not only is capable of giving someone a sense of community, but is also able to be therapeutic to one’s brain. In an article written by Natalie Rehhal for the Daily Mail, Rehhal wrote about how hip-hop can have healing powers. In a study conducted by Cambridge University, it has been that discovered that “the art of free-styling puts rappers’ brains into a unique ‘flow state’ that triggers “parts of the brain responsible for emotion, language, motivation, motor function, and motor processing. That type of stimulation can greatly improve the lives of people dealing with neurological illnesses” (Rehhal). This study corroborates the idea that free-styling is beneficial to neuron-function, which is why Shapiro’s son Nat felt better after free-styling rap.

Reading poems have been found to have therapeutic effects on the mind. Rick Tucker, a freelance consultant and trainer attended a poetry workshop for mental health service users and survivors. He was in awe about how impactful it can be reading poems be for recovery and well-being. He goes in detail about it in his journal, stating that when he was recovering from a depressive episode, and “took great comfort from reading poetry, particularly that of Theodore Roethke” (Tucker). Additionally, many people found William Wordsworth, an English poet around the nineteenth century, therapeutic; particularly his poem “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud.” In the poem he writes, “I wandered lonely as a cloud / That floats on high o'er vales and hills / When all at once I saw a crowd / A host, of golden daffodils / Beside the lake, beneath the trees / Fluttering and dancing in the breeze”. Wordsworth essentially compares being in a prairie of daffodils to eternal bliss. Many people find this poem therapeutic because “the sight of daffodils sprouting from the soil catapulted him into ecstasy and rescued him from the sadness of solitude” (Packer). This is actually the reason why a lot of daffodils were planted after 9/11- to soothe the turmoil of New Yorkers. Another popular poem found therapeutic is “The Armful” by Robert Frost. The poem is essentially telling the reader that regardless of how much of the load you have to deal with, you are capable of persevering through it and still be resilient after. This poem is found therapeutic to many readers because nowadays many people feel that they are inundated in familial obligations, work, school, et cetera; some people need those reminders that they are not alone, or they are able to withstand the load. Furthermore, being overwhelmed by the load on your shoulders is not good for your mental health; according to the Intima Journal, “Taking on too much, holding in, holding back, or holding on too tightly can wreak havoc on anyone’s psyche”. This stress inflicts injury on the brain; it halts production of new brain cells, and depletes critical brain chemicals causing depression. Hence, being able to reminde of by something, in this case, a therapeutic poem, may at least delay or not induce these detrimental effects on the brain.

Mental health has always been an issue the United States has been always trying to combat. There is a plethora of ways of how mental illnesses like depression and anxiety can be dealt with. Writing and reading therapeutic poetry and engaging in spoken word poetry has been demonstrated to have a soothing effect on the mind.