PTS | New Open-Access Publication Explores Writing & Addiction in Collaboration with the Fit for Life Literature Competition

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new study that emerged from an interdisciplinary collaboration between science and the arts.

The article “The ‘Fit for Life’ Literary Award – Writing as an Addiction to Life: A Qualitative Study on Literary Creation in the Context of Substance Use Disorders” has recently been published in the renowned journal Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly (Taylor & Francis, Open Access).

This study was conducted in cooperation between:

The Fit for Life Literary Competition was aimed at individuals with substance use disorders who were engaged in counseling, therapy, or self-help processes. It invited participants to submit their own literary texts—short stories or poems. These works were often autobiographical and offered moving insights into experiences of addiction, recovery, and identity.

The qualitative study explores how literary writing can serve as a form of expression and self-encounter. Eight authors describe their experiences with the early urge to write and the meaning of literary creation in their personal lives. Based on a Grounded Theory analysis, the findings show that conscious autobiographical disclosure of one’s own experiences can simultaneously foster both distance from trauma and closeness to the self.

The publication is available open access at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07347324.2025.2569877

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