Whys and What Ifs: Writing and Anxiety Reduction in Individuals Bereaved by Addiction

Research has shown that writing can help reduce anxiety in individuals who have experienced trauma or complicated grief. This small case study asked if writing could also reduce anxiety in those bereaved by addiction. For this study, thirteen individuals who experienced increased anxiety as a result of bereavement by addiction completed two semi-structured interviews and responded to ten writing prompts over four weeks. Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview transcripts and narrative analysis was used to analyze participants’ writing. Findings from this study suggest that writing decreased anxiety for six participants by helping them to identify intrusive ruminations and by demonstrating the progress they had made since the death of their loved one. However, more research is needed to understand why writing reduced anxiety for only half of these participants and to understand how writing might be more effectively used as a therapeutic intervention for individuals bereaved by addiction.