The science of storytelling

you aren't going to believe it

The Story Collider is a non-profit that hosts live story telling events about different topics like science, confidence, health care, and first impressions. They are wildly popular because everyone loves a good story. Stories are powerful. They share perspectives and experiences.

When we hear a story that resonates it can move us, shake us awake. At their most fundamental, stories connect us to each other.

In an interview with NPR, a past founder of the organization shares that

On functional MRI scans, many different areas of the brain light up when someone is listening to a narrative, Neeley says — not only the networks involved in language processing but other neural circuits, too. One study of listeners found that the brain networks that process emotions arising from sounds — along with areas involved in movement — were activated, especially during the emotional parts of the story.¹

We have visceral, bodily responses, along with emotional responses to stories.

Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash

Uri Hasson, a Princeton University professor of psychology and neuroscience shares that as we listen to stories and we hear the details bloom in real-time, researched brain activity shows that “your brain waves actually start to synchronize with those of the storyteller.”²

Wow.

This made me pause.

In the context of family members with loved ones struggling with addiction or in sustained recovery, listening to stories not only opens up a shared connection and kindred community, it can change the way our minds connect with the experiences of others. In this place of shared storytelling is a synchronous dance where we find meaning with each other.

When recovery is shared, hope multiples.

This is true for families and this is true for those of us also in or seeking recovery. Listening to stories can bring us mysteriously or miraculously into a new place. They can ignite compassion, which is something the world desperately needs. Something your family and loved one may desperately need, too.

With eyes of compassion, we see our loved ones (regardless of where they are in their substance use journey) as human. Beautiful, despite their flaws. Deserving of love and care just because.

Imagine if we only received love when we deserved love.

Author Henri Nouwen says this:

“Faith is the radical trust that home has always been there and always will be there.”³

When we share our stories vulnerably with each other, we say to one another that we can return home any time. We can have radical trust, that no matter what we’ve been through or done or thought, there is a home that is waiting for us and that home is each other.

Photo by Brina Blum on Unsplash

Narrative Therapy

There is also an interesting therapeutic technique called narrative therapy, all centered on this idea of the power in the stories we tell ourselves.

“Our family has been destroyed by addiction.”

This is a powerful, tragic statement that carries too much truth for too many of us.

Yet, this is also true:

“Although we have struggled for years with our daughter’s substance use disorder, we are resilient. We keep showing up. We keep trying to learn new ways to support her and maintain our sanity.”

We can re-frame and “re-story” our experiences so that they carry new meaning—even hope with them.

Where can we connect with one another’s stories?

As Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

God promises presence.

Oftentimes, recovery circles are where many people experience a connection with God for the first time.

There is power in a circle of chairs. Presence in story.

[in case you were wondering how my Substack name was born]

There are countless groups and programs and meetings and supports for affected family members to connect around shared stories of the trauma and struggle of addiction and also around the joyful stories of recovery, just as there are innumerable pathways of recovery for our loved ones.

And a part of connecting with our stories is sharing them through language. It is in the shared language of mutual love and support that true healing can bloom.

A great opportunity to witness the power of stories is at this year’s International Women’s Day Global Recovery Event on March 8th. The goals of the event are to bring awareness to issues specific to women’s addiction and mental health recovery, amplify women’s voices in global recovery advocacy, highlight organizations supporting women’s recovery on a global scale, and discuss the value and impact of storytelling in stigma reduction.

Our stories matter and they can not only give others hope but encourage people to get the help they need.

Register now for this free event! Can’t make the day and time? Register and watch on-demand any time!

You can also join

Blake Roberts, Psychotherapist

and I for a candid conversation this week about recovery and writing LIVE on Substack.

How can writing be a part of our healing journey?

Let’s talk about it live with Blake this week.

Honor Your Capacity.

1. Neighmond, Patti. "How Stories Connect and Persuade Us: Unleashing the Brain Power of Narrative." NPR, 11 Apr. 2020, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/11/815573198/how-stories-connect-and-persuade-us-unleashing-the-brain-power-of-narrative. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

2. Falk, Emily B., et al. "Predicting Persuasion-Induced Behavior Change from the Brain." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 107, no. 24, 2010, pp. 1295-1300, www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1008662107. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

3. Nouwen, Henri J.M. The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming. Image Books, 1992.