Writing about ideas and feelings that occur following a traumatic or stressful life experience, also known as expressive writing, may assist some people in coping with the emotional consequences of such situations. However, it is not a panacea and will not work for everyone. It may be useful to write about your experiences anyway, whether you think anything will come of it or not. The act of putting words onto paper can help release emotions that might otherwise be bottled up inside. Writing about your experiences can be helpful in dealing with the emotional effects of trauma or stress. (Image credit: Stockimo / Stockphoto.com) People often talk about "opening up a can of worms" when discussing issues that they have never dealt with before. That is exactly what writing about your experiences does--it opens up a can of worms that may not have been there previously. By exposing yourself to these issues head on, you are more likely to find solutions or ways to cope. For example, if you have never talked with anyone about an incident that caused you pain, then writing about it could lead to meeting other people who have had similar experiences and give you new perspectives on what happened. It is also important to remember that writing about your experiences does not guarantee that you will automatically feel better. It is possible that writing about something that has hurt you deeply may even cause you to feel worse initially.