Blog Therapy

A new biog-trends survey says nearly 50 per cent of bloggers feel blogging is therapeutic

BLOGGING is gaining new disciples by the second: over 70,000 blogs are created every day according to a leading blog search site. So what's the attraction of the web log for netizens? The answer, according to a recent blog survey, lies In the therapeutic nature of blogging. When 600 web users were surveyed for an American Internet service provider, nearly 50 per cent of respondents said they blogged because it served as a form of therapy

"You could call blogging therapeutic, because it's a good outlet for your emotions, thoughts and opinions," says blogger Kishore Gopalan who likes to discuss things happening in the world and around him, which he would not normally have been able to publish or have people read. "This way, I can speak .out and I know that at least 15- 20 people somewhere in the world will read what I've written and give me feedback. In the blogging community, you are not an Island, you are always reaching out to people and they are reaching out to you."

While many blog to break news, have a personal web-forum, share Information, get a Net audience or just to chronicle their lives, there are bloggers who say they do it for 'release'. "Blogging helps when I'm sad or angry and I need to get it all out. But even reading others' blogs can be therapeutic like those about overcoming (hardships, calamities or battling an illness an often inspirational).It makes you realise are so'fortunate and that itself is curativea roundabout way," says blogger Krishna Kumar. The survey also revealed that nearly or third of bloggers write about self-esteem and self-help topics and that six times as many preferred to write blogs or read offi blogs, when it came to dealing with tragedies or personal issues. Reshma Prakash says blogging helped her get over messy divorce and the death of a pet. "I wanted to speak out, but without discussing things with anyone in particular, so I blogged, anonymously. I would not have ever been able to say that things to anyone, face-to-face, so for me, He was like talking to a therapist, only my therapist was the blogosphere and fellow bloggers who kept leaving posts with words of encouragement."

Is there any downside to this feel phenomenon of getting it off your chest in cyberspace? Psychologists warn making your private muslngs public could also have some not-so-pleasant consequences that could include , mean responses to your blog or even misuse of details from
your life or information you have blogged about.

Psychologist and author of The Psychology of the internet. Patricia Wallace has state "I certainly don't advise anyone to do it They're taking a big risk." So, if this form' therapy works wonders for you, blog on, but cautiously.