Therapeutic Thursday is all about Writing to Heal!
Healing is such an important step in our journey as people who have suffered great loss and trauma with Aortic Disease, Aneurysms, Dissections, etc. As most of us have limited capacity to work or perform activities that we used to pre-Aortic disease/event, we need to find ways to keep our minds busy.
For me, writing has been an integral part of my healing process and I've been fortunate enough to have the know-how to self-publish four books in 2022. Journaling, writing and creating poetry has kept both my mind and my hands busy and I'm passionate about sharing this healing modality with anyone that would like to get started!
In the article below, Writer Bridget Murray says "By helping people manage and learn from negative experiences, writing strengthens their immune systems as well as their minds." Writing is such a therapeutic way to share your thoughts, pain and anger and also verbalize your joy, gratitude and happiness. Writing can be as private or as public as you wish it to be. For example, I wrote a lot of very dark, but also some very hopeful poetry in my newly published book "Persistence Over Pain ~ A Book of Healing Poetry" and I had no intention of publishing it. However, my thoughts were that sharing with others shows that mental health matters and that it is important to heal through writing and share your story.
My thoughts are that if my writing helps or resonates with even one person, my goal of writing is amplified. Because I write for myself and to heal, having one more person impacted is so wonderful.
The article below gives a lot of information from studies and some tips.
Take a peek:
One of my key takeaways is that just focusing on a traumatic event in your life is NOT beneficial. Replaying the event over and over again is very difficult and can bring up many sad memories. In fact, I have been working on my Memoir about my Aortic Dissection which happened almost 4 1/2 years ago on my 39th birthday and I have yet been able to do much with it. It's obvious that the trauma and sadness of that event is still too raw to write about. Instead, I choose to write about my struggles and triumphs in my daily life where I am trying to regain some normalcy in my life and how I'm learning to live with my "New Normal".
Do you write, journal or create poetry? If so, will you ever share it with others or do you simply do it for your own healing and mental health?
My best advice to get you started writing is . . . Just begin! Don't worry about how it sounds, who will read it or correcting grammar or spelling. Just write from your beautifully broken heart!
I would love to hear from you about your writing journey and how it makes you FEEL GOOD and HEAL, every day . . . not just on Therapeutic Thursday ;)
~ Jessica McCracken (Jess McBez on FB)
Comments