The Writing Cure

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Writing

Most of us have heard of the “talking cure,” which is psychotherapy, but fewer are familiar with the “writing cure.” The application of writing to emotional self-healing has a long and successful history, and for good reasons.

Despite our modern obsession with mood-altering medications and talk therapy, which clearly have their place, putting one’s innermost thoughts and feelings on paper is a time-tested way to exorcise mental demons, grow self-awareness (critical for behavior change) and face persistent fears. As proof of concept, try giving it a whirl right now.

Pause and compose a few sentences, or even just jot down a short list of words that describe an emotional or spiritual state with which you are grappling. Don’t fret over grammar or style—just write in free form, or so-called stream of consciousness.

Immediate Benefits

If you do this, you’ll probably discover a couple of immediate benefits. One, you may gain a clearer sense of what you are feeling and, two, you could actually feel better, even if just temporarily. In the longer term, this activity grows self-awareness and weaves together one’s experiences in a more coherent mental narrative.

Why the feel better effect? Well, worrisome or disturbing thoughts usually manifest as words, ideas and corresponding images flitting about in our brains, so they are ghostly and hard to pin down. When we write them on paper, it’s a bit like catching a mosquito that’s been buzzing around the bedroom most of the night. We regain a greater sense of control, which is where the “feel better” part comes in.

The becoming clearer part stems from having to figure out exactly what we’re feeling, as opposed to just saying “I’m depressed,” or whatever. When we translate a diffuse emotion into specific words and put these on paper, it’s like bringing a fuzzy image into focus. It also gives a kind of “voice” to feelings that have gone unexpressed and, often, repressed.

Brutally Honest

A primary benefit of the writing cure is that you can be brutally honest without hurting anyone’s feelings. It’s a medium that allows you to “say” what you candidly feel without censorship, your own or anybody else’s. And we know that truthful expression can be a powerful healing influence.

For instance, I encourage some clients to write starkly honest letters to people with whom they harbor unfinished emotional business, although they never actually send them. Others write poems or even short stories that incorporate how they feel or what they’re going through, which can help them gain fresh perspective and even discover options for how to address what ails them.

But what should one do with the output from these writing cures?

Well, some folks keep journals of their feelings and thoughts, but if they’re wise, they sequester these in a very private place. You won’t be candid in what you write if you are worried about prying eyes.

On Paper, In Longhand

But it can also be healing to ritually destroy what one writes. Some of my clients burn their writing cure documents, sometimes scattering the resulting ashes in a meaningful location and in a ceremonial fashion. This helps us positively transform our inner feelings by symbolically putting them behind us and releasing them into the outer world.

Mechanically, research shows this kind of writing should be on paper and in longhand. The brain treats this creative process, involving one’s tactile and visual senses, as far more real than pecking on a keyboard. But either proves better than neither.

We all need someone to tell it to. But sometimes it also helps to have someone to write it to.

Yourself.

For more, visit philipchard.com.