How can I help adults?
Talking to someone about how you feel can help all sorts of people in lots of different situations, in particular anyone who is going through a bad time or has emotional problems they need help with. For many adults, it may be the same or more effective than medicine and research in psychology and neuroscience can tell us why.
Communicating our feelings and discussing our problems with friends has been a source of relief for centuries. From psychoanalysis to existential and cognitive-behavioural approaches, a vital component of psychology is trust between therapist and client to facilitate self-disclosure, sharing problems, and the healing process. Studies have shown that simply discussing problems with someone we trust and sharing our negative emotions can have profound healing effects on us. These include reducing stress, strengthening our immune system, and reducing physical and emotional distress (Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser, and Glaser, 1988).
Writing about our problems is another method of releasing emotional pain and gaining a greater perspective on our situation. Psychology researcher James Pennebaker (1997) found that writing about our emotional experiences can improve our mental and physical health. There is a theory that keeping painful secrets can increase the risk of illness and that self-disclosure relieves the long-term stress associated with inhibition, resulting in improved health (Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser, & Glaser, 1988).
A simple mindfulness practice, such as consciously identifying and describing our emotions, such as sadness, anxiety, or confusion, can also have a healing effect. In becoming more mindful, focused, and at peace, we will observe these feelings dissipate, fading from our minds as we become more mindful, focused, and at peace (Lieberman et al., 2007).
Lieberman et al. (2007) and Vago and Silbersweig (2012) have found that verbalising our feelings leads to a reduction in the activation of the amygdala, our brain's alarm system that initiates the fight-or-flight response. Putting words to our emotions allows us to move away from limbic reactivity by activating parts of the brain concerned with language and meaning (Lieberman et al., 2007). We can become less reactive and more mindful by putting words to our emotions.
If you need more specialised advice, please follow the link below to an NHS site where you can be directed to appropriate services. Mental health talking therapies
References
Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M.J., Tom, S. M., Pfeiffer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18, 421-427.
Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8, 162-166.
Pennebaker, J. W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., & Glaser, R. (1988). Disclosure of traumas and immune function: Health implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 239-245.
Dreher, E. (2019). Why talking about our problems makes us feel better. [Online]: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/your-personal-renaissance/201906/why-talking-about-our-problems-makes-us-feel-better
Vago, D. R. & Silbersweig, D. A. (2012). Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): A framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6. doi: 10.3389/fnhuum.2012.00296.