Turning the tide

Hardwired to stay silent, journalling can provide an impactful tool for men to tap into their emotions, says Jackee Holder

- Jackee Holder

"Suicide is the leading cause of death for men between the ages of 20 and 49, and three times as many men as women commit suicide. When depressed, 67 per cent of women will confide in someone, compared to just 55 per cent of men.

A study at UCLA, headed up by Dr Matthew Lieberman, found that when men journal the emotional impact was 40 per cent greater than it was for women. When I first heard these findings, I was surprised. But over the years it has started to make sense. Men are socially conditioned to hide and repress their feelings. Research by professors Stefanie Spera and James W Pennebaker with 63 then recently unemployed, middle-aged engineers, found that those assigned to write down their feelings about the job loss were re-employed more quickly than those who wrote about non-emotional issues or did not write at all.