Writing is a great way to heal, and writing therapy is a popular method to help people make sense of their recovery. Whether you want to share your story, or keep it to yourself – writing about your feelings often helps to understand them.
Don’t be put off if you haven’t written much before, writing is not just for celebrated authors or academics, it is for everyone. Whether you opt for journaling or creative writing, or even poetry – it is your form of expression, and you can’t go wrong.
Try to embrace the task, and not let writing be a chore – if it feels like this, it won’t be helpful. Don’t be afraid to write what comes into your mind, and try not to delete things you’ve written down even if you think they are silly or don’t make sense. Sometimes, things only need to make sense for you.
What is Writing Therapy?
Writing can be therapeutic in general, but writing tasks such as journaling can also help by providing structure to your recovery by putting you in control and confronting your emotions. For example, using a Mood Diary to keep track of recovery is often encouraged alongside professional treatment for mental illness to monitor patterns of mood.
A 2018 study by Baikie and Wilhelm into Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing found that ‘Writing about traumatic, stressful or emotional events has been found to result in improvements in both physical and psychological health, in non-clinical and clinical populations.’ [1]
How do I get started?
All you need is a pen and paper (or a laptop or PC) and the willingness to start. You might get stuck but don’t worry, we have a range of writing prompts to help you get started.
Don’t have access to a computer? Most local libraries now have computers available for community use – click here to search for your local library and see what service’s they offer.
References
Read, Write, Recover 