Expressive Writing

I have never been big on writing matter of fact I have always avoided it! However, when you experience a life-changing event you begin to realize the necessity of finding alternatives to expressing your emotions.

Definition:
- Writing therapy or Expressive Writing: Believe it or not this is very effective form of therapy and it involves putting thoughts and feelings into words as a therapeutic tool. It is based on the belief that recording memories, fears, concerns, and/or problems can help relieve stress, promote health and well-being, and lead to personal growth.

My Experience: Writing Therapy or Expressive Writing is a technique that I instituted on my own. It became obvious to me that I needed to start expressing some of the feelings and grief that I was experiencing regarding my illness. And, truthfully, you can’t always do that with the people closest to you. For one thing, a lot of the feelings you are having are about the people around you and how your illness is affecting them and how they are relating to the changes in you. To try and share that with them and expect objectivity and support is setting yourself up for failure and would just be a painful and unnecessary experience for the other person.

I got out a pad of paper and just started writing…. I didn’t even worry about spelling or writing whole sentences, I just wrote thoughts and anything that came to the surface. In other words, I just simply wrote.

I first started writing when my friends started disappearing one by one. If you have a chronic illness or have experienced a serious life crisis you know what I am talking about. It happens. People do not want or do not have the skills to accept the changes in your life and in yourself and that’s the bottom line. I wrote letter after letter to friends, family members etc…. Did I send these letters? No, the idea was for me to express some of the feelings I was having without judgment.

Remember, one of the most important things you can do for yourself on this journey is to express yourself. To hold in your feelings is just creating more sickness in your body. And it depletes your natural resources challenging your body instead of supporting your body in the healing process.

Would I do it again? I still occasionally do. Not quite as often and not in a consistent way, but when the feeling strikes I write about it. It is therapeutic and keeps me on a path of letting go and not internalizing my feeling. On the other hand, writing the articles for this website has been both therapeutic and stressful because I had to relive my entire journey to date with all its ups and downs. It has been bitter sweet, I see the progress and I am thankful and proud of where I am today.

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