The Healing Power of Stories

Wendy Arena, MS, RN

Precision is something we tend to equate with numbers rather than words. However, precision isn’t limited to the domain of quantifiable data. Precision of language is equally meaningful. This is just one of the reasons why we need the humanities in health care. The Oxford Dictionary defines humanities as “the subjects of study that are about the way people think and behave, for example literature, language, history and philosophy.” The humanities help us to understand and communicate with the people with whom we work and for whom we care.

I’ve discovered that many of us who gravitate to the helping and healing professions often have personal reasons for wanting to make the world a better place. In some cases, it was because the environments we lived in as children were not safe or nurturing. This was my situation, and I’ve talked to many nurses and nursing students who have shared similar stories. Fortunately, I learned to read before I began school. Literature became my window into other worlds and ways of life. Through stories I learned about other people, places, and times. I learned about the natural world and our connection to its inhabitants. It was through the humanities that I learned that life was full of possibilities.

As alluded to above, the humanities seek to explain how people think and behave. In many cases, this is through the use of stories. To tell a story is to create meaning from circumstances that may otherwise seem senseless. We communicate through stories. They provide a foundation for our culture and our personal and collective histories. Stories are how we create our truth. It isn’t just the creation of the story that has such power, but also the sharing. Stories are how we connect and relate to one another. Humans are the only species (of which we are aware) that has evolved to the level of being able to read, write, and speak. These are powerful tools when wielded skillfully and intentionally.

Creating the emotional space and trust required for a person to share their story is a fundamental, but often underutilized, skill. Allowing a person the time and space to tell their story has become a luxury in our time-pressured modern health system. It requires being fully present and listening to what is said as well as what is not said. Our patients are telling us stories all the time if we are willing to listen with our full attention.

I work in and teach mental health nursing, which is focused more on forming relationships with patients and less on performing tasks. The main focus of mental health nursing for undergraduate students is building therapeutic communication skills. Interviewing a patient is basically eliciting a person’s story in their own words. The most important communication skill is also the most challenging: listening.

Many nursing students dread their mental health rotation. There is still a stigma when it comes to mental health. In addi-