Journey of Hearts The Importance of Telling (and Listening) to the Story 

A Healing Place in CyberSpaceTM

The Importance of Telling (and Listening) to the Story

Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS, FAAETS

 

Introduction

 

At the most basic level "Telling the Story" is a means of transmitting ideas from one person to another. [1] Storytelling is a part of life, intrinsic to most cultures. They help people make sense of the world--life’s experiences, dilemmas and hardships. Stories can educate, inspire and build rapport. They are a means of communicating, recreating, and helping preserve cultures [2] by translating memories into a more concrete manner that can be handed down verbally or in written form. Telling the story can provide the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of one’s experiences and oneself.

 

Each person has a unique story, unlike any other. These stories are constantly changing and being rewritten, reconstructed, even discarded from the moment we are born until we die. [3] Stories help make sense of the insensible. Stories can help people explore other ways of doing, feeling, thinking and behaving. [4] Forming a story about one’s life experiences improves physical and mental health. [5] Storytelling can be regarded as one of the oldest healing arts; it has been used for centuries as a universal, useful way for the grieving person to cope with loss. [6]

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

 

1. Brundtland GH. Health for the 21st Century. Speech delivered for the World Economic Forum January 30, 1999. http://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/english/19990130_davos.html.

2. Murray CJL, Lopez AD. The Global Burden of Disease. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997. http://www.who.int/msa/mnh/ems/dalys/intro.htm

 3. The Effects of Depression in the Workplace. NIHM Brochure. Bethesda, MD: The National Institute of Mental Health. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/depression/employee/workplace.htm.

4. CyberAtlas The Web Marketer's Guide to Online Facts. March 23, 2000 CyberAtlas: Internet Statistics and Market Research for Web Marketers. http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/geographics/print/0,1323,5911_326181,00.html

5. More than Half of all U.S. Adults now Online. The Strategis Group. http://www.strategisgroup.com/press/pubs/IUTFinal.htm

6. Internet Train is rolling: But no one knows where it's going. American Medical News. October 4, 1999:42: 23-24.