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Why is poetry good for healing?

Can we use poetry for healing? 

And if yes, how can poetry help us manage our worry and anxiety symptoms, or even help us overcome mental health problems?

If you are a poetry lover, you already know part of the answer. This is one of the main reasons for reading poetry after all. 

Poetry seems to soothe our souls and calm our thoughts. First of all, we experience the feeling that we are not alone. 

Through poetry, the opportunity is given to connect with another human being (the poet), on a deeper emotional level. This is probably happening because the poets generously share their secret, intimate thoughts, and feelings with us: their worries, their anxieties, their failures, their losses, their dreams. 

Poets bravely expose their whole human nature to us. People who aren’t always perfect. Neither are always happy. Human beings who don’t always win, or sometimes may feel lost or vulnerable. That also means that we feel understood, and furthermore accepted in critical moments.

Understanding and acceptance generate emotional comfort and containment. Are those the most important and basic elements in restoring our self-worth and self-confidence, and thus, feel healed by the disempowerment of the uncomfortable everyday experiences? 

The benefits of poetry in healing

Understanding and acceptance are not the only benefits of poetry in therapy and healing. Poetry touches the heart, but at the same time, it touches the mind in unexpected ways.

Poetry offers valuable knowledge in the form of wisdom through its simplicity and precision.

For the poet to present experiences and knowledge with simplicity presupposes a great deal of clarity of thought and a deeper and round understanding of the situation. The poets have a beautiful, and unique talent: to reflect on a situation and define it in few words. 

When we feel that there are any unspoken, unresolved, and undefined parts in our personal experiences, or we feel that there are any gaps in our understanding, or we simply feel confused about how certain things may work in life, poetry can offer to us a different perspective or a new insight. 

More precisely, it opens up new paths of thought and understanding. 

And as Socrates said: “The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.” 

Poets are not that much innovators of thought. Their work is to shape ordinary, human thoughts, and bring their true meaning into sharp focus. Clarity of thought regarding a situation and a better understanding of our behavior, are important elements of healing and an integral part of effective therapeutic work.

With emotional support and a broader thought scope, also comes peace of mind, inspiration, and motivation. These are also the main goals of therapy and healing.

Here is an example of how poetry can assist understanding regarding life challenges:

One of the most read poems is “Ithaca” by C. Kavafis. Ithaka through its wisdom beautifully inspires and arms us with all the skills needed to overcome obstacles towards our goals. Furthermore, it comforts us in relation to the difficulties of achieving goals, as it shifts the importance from the goal itself, to the journey.

“As you set out for Ithaka 

hope your road is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: 

you’ll never find things like that on your way 

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

{…}

you won’t encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul, 

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

{…}

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. 

Without her, you would not have set out. 

She has nothing left to give you now.

 And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

 C. Kavafis

Why is poetry good for the soul?

Reading poetry might be beneficial for our soul for the following reasons:

1. Offers valuable insights and reveals new ways of thinking about burning questions and critical matters
2. Poetry and arts are moving and enlightening at the same time. That means that reaches the person holistically, energizing both the heart and the mind.
3. Help us realize that worries, anxieties, grief, resentment, failure, and loss are universal and integral part of life (e.g., loneliness, fear of rejection, anger, not staying true to ourselves, etc,), and under this perspective, it eases feelings of loneliness, guilt, and
4. Poetry is rarely judgmental, thus offering a safe, trusting environment to explore thoughts and feelings.

In a few words animates the soul, inspires the mind!

How does poetry help us in life?

A beautiful example. “Poetry encounter us”, by Titos Patrikios.

Worries and anxieties constitute an important part of our personal history. Very few people, if not none, do not wonder about some of their feelings, decisions, behavior, and losses.

Emotional pain and mental concerns may signal a secret longing for change or resolution.

Therefore, it is crucial to pay attention to these voices and take appropriate action. Poetry can help us organize our thoughts and thus, recognize our problems. At the same time, poetry can implicitly offer solutions or show us ways to overcome obstacles. 

It is especially important that poetry does not provide instructions and “to do” lists. Poetry encourages us to think!

This is why I like so much this famous, inspiring Greek poem “Poetry encounters you”: the tile itself highlights the profound emotional support that poetry offers to people in times of weakness and exalts the power of poetry to address and heal inner pain.

At the same time the poet, gently and with great respect refers to all those aspects that represent universal turmoil and conflicts. He remains close to us by “exposing” himself as he describes his own moments of weakness during his life. Without criticism and admirable precision in his descriptions, he implicitly suggests exploring our motives and face (as much as we can), the reality of our decisions, fears, omissions, and other people’s behavior. 

Who knows? 

Perhaps in that very moment, where poetry encounters (and embraces us all), in that very moment that poetry is needed to comfort us, at the same time, some answers regarding our emotional problems are skillfully hidden.

POETRY ENCOUNTERS YOU (short extract)

“While you are asking yourself what you have done,

How much you opened yourself up to others to become accepted,

{…}

How you closed yourself too much to be protected, What was your fault for those who rejected you,

For how long you have postponed rejecting them in turn,

{…}

For how long you were allegedly true even though you were no loyal anymore,

{..}

It’s then that poetry encounters you”.

Titos Patrikios

Some of the issues implicitly raised by the poet.

(Through the above extract)

• Worrying about our purpose and achievements in life.

• Concessions that we make to become accepted by fear of being totally ourselves.

• Restraining ourselves from giving and giving in, out of fear

• The pain of rejection. The longing for love, respect, and approval.

• False hopes that things will change. Ignoring red flags.

• Difficulty to accept that you have changed or that you have moved on. Guilt as well as fear of the unknown.

Can someone be healed by just reading a poem or we need to follow a more systematic approach to achieve any results?

Although poetry and other forms of art can definitely empower, inspire, and motivate us by just reading, listening, or seeing them, there are some cases that we may want to dig deeper into our inner self and use it as a means of change. 

During serious therapeutic work, arts are used as a vehicle that shapes the interaction with the therapist. Through the triggering of emotions and thoughts, the personal way that the client relates to the therapist is revealed. 

Fears and desires that may unconsciously organize our behavior in relation to others, may come to the surface through the safe environment that arts, and the therapeutic environment offer. Then our responses are discussed with the therapist. 

Such an experience facilitates self-awareness, and thus change for the better can be achieved.

What poetry should I read for healing?

If you are working with a therapist then you can discuss it with them, based on your personal therapeutic goals. If you choose poetry for self-healing, you can choose those poems that work for you and your experience at the moment. 

Every single great poet offers a variety of themes and subjects that can relate to everyday life challenges or a certain philosophical mood. 

There are poems for strength, where their subject offers inspiration and motivation. 

There are poems about healing and trauma. Their subject usually conveys understanding and acceptance in times of emotional turmoil. 

In the same manner, there are poems about falling in love, about healing from heartbreak or other emotional challenges. 

Choose those that speak to your heart. Read them again in times you feel vulnerable.

Some thoughts about Psychology in Art. The role of SHARE Lv.

Art, in its genuine expression, is a sensitive (political) response to life. 

A response linked with events and situations that really matter to humans as well as with deep emotional experiences. 

Art affects us on a profound personal level and seems to have the power to illuminate things that are important or even vital to us. SHARE LV uses Arts and Humanities as a vehicle for a deeper comprehension of complicated life situations.

Reading: (in Greek):

ΠΑΤΡΙΚΙΟΣ, Τ. (2012). Σε βρίσκει η ποίηση, Εκδόσεις Κίχλη (in Greek).

CAVAFY, C. (2009). The Collected Poems: with the parallel Greek text, Editor Oxford World’s Classics.

More Psychology in Art SHARE LV articles that gained inspiration from Arts and Humanities:

Georgiadi, E. (2017). Arts exists because we are humans

Georgiadi, E. (2018). About caring

Georgiadi, E. (2018). Criticism, confidence, and self-development

Georgiadi, E. (2019). Intelligence and Frivolity

Georgiadi, E. (2021). What it is to be free? Inspiring Tennessean Williams Quote

Georgiadi, E.(2023). Elizabeth’s the 1st unfulfilled love: On Monsieur’s Departure

Image: Giorgio Tentolini. Venere (Pagan Poetry), 2019

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Elissavet Georgiadis (Mental Health Professional – PgDipMT, GSMD – City University)