Writing therapy is a form of expressing your thoughts, feelings, and emotional state in written words. Studies have shown that writing how you feel can help you overcome different types of mental diseases.
Writing with traditional pen and paper is rare because of smartphones and social media apps. Instead, we communicate through text messages, video calls, and emails. As a result, we feel uncomfortable talking to others face-to-face.
Because of this, it is difficult for people to express their true feelings. They do not feel comfortable talking about their thoughts and feelings to someone else. Hence, most of them become mentally disturbed, resulting in depression and other mental illnesses.
Writing as a Therapy
Writing your thoughts, feelings, and emotions on paper can work as therapy. It is more comfortable than talking to people, although that could also be equally helpful (if not more). But, it depends on who you talk to.
Writing can improve your emotional state. For instance, have you heard of the idea that you should write negative thoughts on paper and then throw it away? This process will help you feel good instantly.
I haven’t tried this method yet, but I must admit, I do feel good whenever I write my feelings in my journal. It is because I do not filter any thoughts and emotions. Instead, I write everything—every emotion that I am feeling.
The Art of Journaling
As I said, writing your thoughts on a piece of paper will be helpful. However, that would only be useful for a particular thought during a specific period. It is much better to keep a journal as you might lose the paper and forget how you felt at that moment. Having a journal allows you to go back and reflect on your past states and monitor your emotional stages.
Journaling is one of the best habits for self-improvement. It has a lot of benefits. People believe that there is a specific way of journaling and that they need to learn it. But, that is not true. Journaling is done for yourself and not for others. So, there is no particular method you must imply. You can do it however you want—free-write your thoughts, feelings, emotions, happenings of the day, etc.
The practice of journaling has been around for a long time. Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius is famously known for his journals, later transformed into a book called Meditations. He wrote those journals during the first century (from 161 AD to 180 AD).
Similarly, Anne Frank is known for her famous journals, later transformed into a book called The Diary of a Young Girl.
Throughout history, many famous personalities practiced journaling. This practice is intact to this day. So, many successful entrepreneurs, business persons, and celebrities also practice journaling.
Journaling is not only good for your mental well-being but also for creating a better future for yourself. For instance, you can write your goals, ideas, affirmations, etc.
How to Begin Writing Therapy?
It’s simple. Get a notebook and start writing. Write your feelings, thoughts, emotions, goals, ideas, daily events, etc. As I said, there is no limit to writing.
It might sound like a big deal to practice this habit, but it is pretty simple. You only need 5 to 10 minutes of your day to implement it into your life. Do it either in the morning or at night, whichever is comfortable for you.
As someone who has done this practice (and still does it), I assure you that it will help you in the long run. You might not see the results immediately, but as you make it a consistent part of your daily routine, writing/journaling will help you in your life.
But I must warn you; do not expect significant changes. It will only make you unwilling to continue this practice. Small changes can make a substantial impact on life. For instance, writing can help you develop more self-awareness. It will guide you through the difficult times in life.
Final Words
Every individual is different. We have different thoughts, feelings, emotional states, and preferences in life. Whatever you are feeling, writing it down will help you on a certain level.
Again, it might not eliminate your problems, but it will help you make minor improvements that will have a more significant impact in the future.
So, start practicing writing therapy for a better life.
