A new study in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience not only supports this connection but adds an interesting twist, finding that reflecting on past failures—by writing about them—may help us stay calm in the face of new stressors. The team found this in the lab, but based on past evidence, it likely applies to real life, too. The team predicted that writing about a past failure would actually reduce a person’s stress level during a stressful situation in the present, whereas writing about the random topic wouldn’t have any effect. "We didn't find that writing itself had a direct relationship on the body's stress responses," says study author Brynne DiMenichi in a statement. Writing about these negative past events may help us process them.

Source: Forbes March 24, 2018 16:18 UTC