EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION AND PHYSICAL HEALTH - REVISING TRAUMATIC MEMORIES OR FOSTERING SELF-REGULATION

Health benefits derived from personal trauma disclosure are well estab lished. This study examined whether disclosing emotions generated by i maginative immersion in a novel traumatic event would similarly enhanc e health and adjustment. College women, preselected for trauma presenc e, were randomly assigned to write about real traumas, imaginary traum as, or trivial events. Yoked real-trauma and imaginary-trauma particip ants wrote about real-trauma participants' experiences. Imaginary-trau ma participants were significantly less depressed than real-trauma par ticipants at immediate posttest, but they were similarly angry, fearfu l, and happy. Compared with control group participants, both trauma gr oups made significantly fewer illness visits at 1-month follow-up; how ever, real-trauma participants reported more fatigue and avoidance tha n did the other groups. Imaginary-trauma group effects could reflect c atharsis, emotional regulation, or construction of resilient possible selves.