Writing can help people manage stress and develop resilience, according to Emily Johnston, a professor of writing studies at UC Merced. Johnston has studied how the act of writing affects the brain and supports people in handling everyday challenges. She recently published an online essay on this topic and is working on a book.
Johnston explained that writing does not have to be formal. “Maybe the feelings are too fresh and you don’t have the words yet. So write a to-do list. Write about the cup of coffee on your desk. You’re still exercising that writing muscle. ‘What are the words I’m looking for?’” she said.
She described how putting problems into written words can create distance from difficult experiences, allowing individuals to process their emotions more effectively. “Writing creates an interruption between something that’s happening and our thoughts about it. This interruption can regulate our nervous system and clarify how we want to respond. I think of writing as a disaster preventionist: It ever-so-subtly closes the emotional floodgates and keeps us from reacting,” Johnston said.
She also noted that labeling emotions, even with simple symbols or phrases, helps calm the brain’s fight-or-flight response by giving form to those feelings: “But when we label emotions, like pain, with a grimacing emoji or a colorful phrase, we give them physical form. Our brains can shift from threat-detection mode to making meaning.”
Johnston emphasized that resilience is not just an innate trait but something people can develop through practice—especially through writing: “Yes, I see resilience as something we practice every time we write… What you write might miss the mark, I explain, but you’re putting yourself out there.”
She sometimes asks students to write by hand rather than type because handwriting activates different cognitive processes compared to typing. This method engages motor systems more intensely and helps students remember information better while making connections between ideas.
While some may view traditional forms of writing as declining in use, Johnston believes writing is simply changing forms with technology such as social media and texting becoming common ways people express themselves daily.
She also pointed out that students in STEM fields benefit from recognizing various forms of writing in their disciplines—from lab reports to research proposals—and that effective communication remains central across all professions.
Reflecting on her own academic journey, Johnston shared how she overcame personal struggles during college by finding support through literature and eventually channeling her experiences into helping others through teaching and research: “It occurred to me that I could support other survivors — not by becoming a therapist or psychologist but by putting my story on paper.”
