Writing Is My Therapy

I never thought I would ever have time to do this! But guess what? I decided tonight that I would set a time at least once a week to put my thoughts into writing. Because the semester is finally over, I now have the extra time to actually share some of my thoughts, experiences, DIY's, recipes and who knows what else this crazy mind of mine has to offer. You will just have to follow me to find out what I will be posting for you and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I will.

Just this past semester I took a Psychology class, and it was something! I hated the excessive amount of work I was required to do, but I learned so much. As overwhelming and draining as it was, I think I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. A topic that was discussed towards the end of the semester that encouraged me to get to this point and write out my thoughts and feelings was therapy. I had to do an assignment called The Empty Chair Technique. In this particular case, it was the Empty Envelope Technique. I had to write a letter to someone whom I have had unresolved conflicts with. I had to imagine myself talking to the person and had to write it all down in a letter format. After writing down my feelings and the things I wanted to say, I sealed it in an envelope and pretended to give the letter to this person. It was weird because it felt so real to me. Maybe its because the feelings that I had written down were very personable and truly what I felt deep inside. You would think that’s all I needed to do, huh? Nope! That was not the end of it.

I had to put myself in that person’s shoes and write a letter responding to my own letter. I had to write what I would think the person would say to me. It was crazy because in reality, that’s the part I hate the most. To hear someone criticize, condemn or even correct me is one of my greatest weaknesses. It is something I am consistently working on. But hey, I am a woman that sets high expectations for myself which makes me feel like I need to be a perfectionist. I also like to blame it on my active energetic hormones that usually spark my emotions so very often. In this exercise, it was different and very unusual. There was understanding, acceptance and peace. Because I was telling myself what the other person feels I took it very well. It is all about COMMUNICATION. We all convey our messages very differently. And most of the time we could be saying the same exact piece of information, just in a different way.

This assignment truly helped me adopt the perspective of the other person. It is something that I will be applying to my life on a consistent basis. It is more of a calmer, relaxing way of solving problems, discovering differences and hammering out disagreements.

This activity made me realize that our true and deep feelings can be expressed through writing. I love this quote by a known English novelist and journalist, Graham Greene, “Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those, who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear, which is inherent in a human condition.” I am excited to write and share my thoughts. 

So grab your pen and start writing to….