Quote:
“Telling and listening to stories is the way we make sense of our lives,” said Dr. Thomas K. Houston, lead author of the study and a researcher at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and the Veterans Affairs medical center in Bedford, Mass. “That natural tendency may have the potential to alter behavior and improve health.”
Experts in this emerging field of narrative communication say that storytelling effectively counteracts the initial denial that can arise when a patient learns of a new diagnosis or is asked to change deeply ingrained behaviors. Patients may react to this news by thinking, “This is not directly related to me,” or “My experience is different.” Stories help break down that denial by engaging the listener, often through some degree of identification with the storyteller or one of the characters.
“The magic of stories lies in the relatedness they foster,” Dr. Houston said. “Marketers have known this for a long time, which is why you see so many stories in advertisements.”
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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/he...html?ref=views
Psych Central allows us to tell our story. Others here read and can relate and reassure. I expect this is what DocJohn was talking about here:
http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=163968