In a world that often feels overwhelming, sometimes the simplest solutions can be the most profound. 

Poetry – the art of weaving words into meaning – can be a powerful tool in supporting your mental health. Whether you're scribbling verses in a journal or simply reading poems that speak to your soul, research shows that poetry offers genuine therapeutic benefits that can help us navigate life's challenges with greater resilience and hope.

Wondering what the science tells us? Read on...

Poetry can ease anxiety and depression

When loneliness creeps in or depression feels heavy, poetry can offer a gentle hand to guide you through. Reading, writing, and sharing poetry can help people cope with loneliness or isolation and reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, according to research by the University of Plymouth and Nottingham Trent University.

Respondents also shared that engaging with poetry helped them feel less anxious, enabled them to deal with issues relating to bereavement, and assisted with ongoing mental health symptoms.


Poetry improves emotional regulation

There's something magical about how poetry can shift our inner landscape. Research demonstrates that poetry has positive short and long-term effects on mood, as well as beneficial impacts on how we show up in our daily lives.

For example, a 2021 study among hospitalised children found meaningful reductions in fear, sadness, anger, worry, and fatigue for those who engaged in poetry activities. The healing potential extends even further – a literature review on poetry therapy for patients in palliative and end-of-life care revealed that poetry facilitates meaningful shared experiences, and significantly improves relationships between healthcare providers and patients, creating connection during vulnerable moments.

Poetry is good for your health

The benefits of poetry aren't just emotional – they're physical too. Back in 2020, research noted that writing poetry has the power to decrease physiological stress indicators including muscle tension, perspiration levels, blood pressure, and heart rate.

This means that when you pick up that pen to write, you're not just nurturing your mind – you're caring for your whole body.


Poetry helps with emotional processing

Making sense of difficult emotions is something that almost everyone struggles with at some point. Poetry offers an accessible and structured way to process complex feelings in a creative, gentle way that honours your unique experience.


A 2018 paper explored poetry as a tool to help people with chronic pain explore and express their stories in their own authentic way. The researchers described how "the cathartic poem is an attempt at self-healing through self-empathy" – a reminder that sometimes the most profound healing comes from within, through the simple act of putting our truth into words.


Poetry can connect you with others

One of poetry's greatest gifts might be its ability to remind us that we're not alone in our human experience. Two Harvard students, David Haosen Xiang and Alisha Moon Yi, wrote about their experience of leading virtual poetry workshops in Cambridge and Las Vegas, with the aim of helping participants form meaningful social relationships.


Their findings were heartwarming: "We consistently had participants remark on the sense of belonging and community that the workshops provided, and how encouraged they were to speak and share their hopes and fears, their worries, and joys, and to feel a real connection to others, while learning and immersing themselves in poetry."


Poetry doesn't require perfection – it simply asks for honesty. Whether you're drawn to free verse that flows like conversation, structured forms that provide comforting boundaries, or somewhere in between, there's no wrong way to begin. The healing happens not in the polished final product, but in the brave act of putting your inner world into words.

So why not give it a try?

Enter the 2026 Happiful Poetry Prize to be in with a chance of winning £100 and seeing your poem published in the magazine.