My Journal Was Always My Best Therapist...

I am a writer.

Sometimes I write things that make sense, sometimes I write things that educate and illustrate, sometimes I write things that simply tell a story, sometimes I write things that rattle cages.

As much as anything, I write because I find the very process of stringing words together and "getting them out" to be very cathartic.

Some people work out; some people listen to death metal... I write.

Everybody Is Broken!

Those may not be words we want to hear, and we may strongly deny they are true, because it doesn't fit our perception of the world or ourselves that we might be "broken."

Seriously, though, we're pretty much all broken. 

Let's face it, if we even step outside our front door, we expose ourselves to breakage. Maybe it's subtle; maybe it's not. 

Taking on breakage doesn't necessarily mean we have to suffer prolonged trauma or spend years living in an abusive situation. Sometimes, it's little stuff, but it sticks with us. We walk out the front door and a small snow slide from the roof inundates us... and now we're a little more careful when we step out. We trusted the plumber to fix a broken pipe, but it still leaks... and now we trust plumbers a little less. 

Some would simply call it "experience," and maybe it is. Then again, maybe just a little piece of our "freedom of spirit" broke in the process.

In the course of a year, my wife sees hundreds of clients in her counseling and coaching practice, and whereas I can't go into detail, I can assure you that the range of what people interpret as "being broken" runs the range from the relatively minor to the horrific, and the variety is mindbending.

Writing As Therapy

Although I have been in "formal" therapy a number of times-- mostly in my teens to mid-30's-- it was always the writing exercises that helped me the most.

Consider this:

The reason writing is such good therapy is that-- no matter what-- our personal journals will not sit in judgment of what we commit to the page. And so, we end up feeling comfortable writing something in private that we most likely would not even confess to a trusted therapist. Or family member. Or loved one.

And much of the time, when something ails our psyche, what we need most is to "simply get it OUT." We don't need suggestions or advice... we just need clarity. We need to take the jumble of thoughts inside our heads, sort them out and get them out of there. LET GO!

That's how writing has always helped me. Once I've gotten it out of my mind and "structured" the swirling thoughts in writing... then my head feels a whole lot clearer!

How about YOU? Do you consider writing to have a "healing" element. Have you even been through phases of your life when you journaled a lot, and it helped you settle the "turbulence?" Are there things you have "said to yourself" in private journals that you would never have shared with another person? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

created by @zord189

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180218 17:04 PDT