THERAPY THROUGH WRITING

Writing can be a very good and inexpensive theraputic tool in several different ways to aid in healing of one's emotional or mental health.

Whether through keeping a diary, journal writing, or letters written as well as using others forms of public writings to express ones inner emotions, writing can be a great venue through which healing can begin, and continue whether it is done on one's own or as a tool for therapy. Keeping a diary, for one's deepest secrets and thoughts, can be very helpful for not only releasing unexpressed feelings but also as a way to keep track of our own personal growth in our emotional and mental aspects. By saving those diaries where we have recorded our truest feelings, we can go back and read them later and see if we have grown in a negative or positive direction since the time gone. When found facing a similar situation, it can be very enlightening to see if we are still reacting the same ways or if there was a change in our reaction, as well as see if there are certain patterns we tend to follow concerning specific situations that may need to be changed.

Journal writing can be used in much the same way as diary writing, except that journal writing is more a written record of events, with a less emotionally charged dialect. It is more like a narration based more on fact than feeling. This is a good tool in which to reflect on more frequently than the writings in a diary. This is a wonderful tool to find answers to how we spend our time each day, with who, where, why , and what we're we doing? For depressions, personality issues, and behavior patterns, these less emotionally charged recordings makes evaluating the affect of the everyday relationships in our lives, journal writing can be a clearly defined structure of what things need to be changed. It can be a more personalized form of the "pros and cons" checklist we were taught to use for problem solving in school about the time puberty ( and emotional conflicts) hit, just on a more in-depth level.

Although both these forms are, each in their own way, great for looking back on our recent history and tracking our own growth, healing, and maturity, there is a much more productive way of healing through writing that can be instantly gratifying on a deeper level than either of these.

Letter writing.

Letter writing doesn't mean " letter sending". When a person is angry, resentful, hurt, letdown, from pain that was brought on by another,~ to be able to write that person a letter being very specific as to how they feel , why they feel that way and, with very little effort, be able to place all their emotional rage, hurt, anger, heartache, etc. onto that paper can be more than enough to bring more peace than ten therapy sessions. The best thing about letter writing is that you don't ever have to share this type of writing with anyone and shouldn't really use this type of writing as a learning tool.

Letter writing is more of a healing tool than an analytical or expressive one. It's best used as an alternative to facing our abusers and throwing harsh words around at people who have caused us pain and are obviously either in denial or just don't care. If they were truly concerned as to how we felt as we are of them, then there would be no need to write a letter. Whether a child that suffered at the hands of a parent, a young woman struggling to start over after enduring a very abusive relationship, or an angry, unstable being of God all alone in this world needing to blame someone, all can be healed by writing when approaching it with an open mind. They should write their own private letter and put all the negative feelings they possibly can into that letter. Then comes the choice to deliver the letter and wait in hopes of an apology for how they were made to feel; or, the better choice in my opinion, is consciously make it point to transfer all the negativity out of ones self onto that paper, set it afire and imagine each billow of smoke is another painful feeling released into the air, forever gone up in smoke, to be replaced by happy , healed feelings and room for wonderful memories to come.

Writing in various forms has been my therapist for as many years as I can remember. I have burned many, many painful heartaches. I have pages and pages of years and years of journals, diaries, memos, poems, and even drawings that create a jigsaw puzzle of my life. I have used my pen to talk to my God, to put a jumbled pile of confusion into understandable order, to solve some of my life's most complex problems, share things that I wanted no one to know but were too much to keep inside, as well as record my joys, and wonderful moments to share one day with my grandchildren. The love of writing has been very instrumental in keeping me from completely losing my mind... it's my screwdriver to reattach the screw when my handle on life tries to fall off.

And it's MUCH cheaper than a therapist!