I can’t help thinking about what it is I learn from a short internet article like this: McGill Tribune – MINDFUNK: Journal writing for health
It might be worth noticing as stated that just writing about how bad or good you feel doesn’t help much in solving issues in your life and that making a true effort to write your thoughts down can be beneficial. But “The process of writing about traumatic events or important events can have beneficial physical and mental health effects” makes me wiggle a little on my chair. Yes, the process of writing most certainly will make you go through feelings and memories so it must be true. But it is the acceptance and understanding, the dealing with a problem that is truly beneficial. Not the writing itself.
Besides, writing about a trauma on a moment in your life where you can’t handle it might not be such a good idea. So, naturally, before you have the wish to write things down there probably already started a healthy process of dealing with it, conscious or not.
What about talking, singing, fiction-writing, dancing, performing, drawing, meditating or what ever one can do to get into contact with anything beneath the superficial smile to the neighbor?
But ok. I blog about writing and I am sure writing a journal can have a good effect.
Shall we dance now?
(Via Time to Write)
Writing about a traumatic or troubling event is a “making strange” process. The event is thereby set outside the writer, who can the examine it and the feelings attached to it from a more dispassionate point of view. The writing can also reveal emotions that the writer was not aware of. Of course, as we are talking about people and their feelings, the opposite can also be true. Or not. Perhaps. All we can do is try it and see what happens. If anything does.
Confused? Welcome to the human race.
Mr. Born-with-two-left-feet.