Often, we don’t feel depressed or anxious enough to go to a therapist. Or maybe we do not have time, do not feel confident to do so, or maybe our budgets are on the lower side.

Still, we are feeling low, stuck in negative thinking, and just cannot seem to find a way out.

Is there anything we can do to deal with trauma, grief, and other mental health issues on our own?

Writing is one of the tools we have to sort out what is going on within us.

You don’t need to be a writer; therapeutic journaling is something that everyone can do. If you can write, you can do therapeutic penning.

But what is therapeutic writing exactly?

How to Use Writing as a Therapy

Sometimes, we might just be feeling low. Or we are overwhelmed by traumatic experiences that cannot always be pinpointed to a specific big event: an accident, an assault, or something similar.

Trauma is something that most of us carry around and limits what we perceive in our daily lives. That means we are wearing tainted glasses that do not allow us to experience things as they are, especially the positive things that we often overlook because we are focused on a past negative experience.

It’s not just trauma. Grief, loss, anxiety...

There are various mental health issues that do not weigh enough to impel us to go for therapy, but we still seek relief as we carry a heavy burden inside of us that makes us see even the bluest sky as clouded.

Therapeutic Writing

Therapeutic crafting is a tool for gaining perspective on things, understanding what moves us and how things affect us, recognizing our ANT (automatic negative thoughts) and changing them, or just releasing feelings.

Writing acknowledges trauma, and It is a way to get it out of your system. Scribing is something we all can do, not just professional writers. But how exactly do we do it?

What Writing is Therapeutic?

We all feel anxious sometimes; there is nothing wrong with that. Anxiety becomes a problem only when it overwhelms us and changes our perceptions.

So, we need to learn how to deal with it, as well as with the traumas, negative thinking patterns, or other issues affecting our mental health.

One way of doing so is by looking at what is bothering us, and what is happening within us.

Something important to understand: Therapeutic writing is for all. Maybe you are an extrovert that likes action and socializing, maybe an introvert that likes to go within.

But noting things down is a tool for all.

Take a Notebook and Start Narrating

Bring hidden fears to light—to awareness. Half of them will disappear just by that. When they remain unspoken, they become the proverbial ghosts under the bed.

Self-exploration can be a way to unburden ourselves, gain perspective, and free ourselves from stuck feelings that hinder us from experiencing the now—because whatever situation we get into, we keep experiencing the past.

Once you start writing, you will also see how you talk to yourself.

Have you ever heard of cognitive distortions? There are common negative patterns of thought that change our experience of reality.

You will find out through journaling. Focus on the emotions, the feelings, and your own narrative about the situation, more than on external happenings, but also put down the mere facts—will aid in determining whether we are under one of the various cognitive distortions.

You see, the mind believes everything you tell it, and beliefs will determine the things we actually see. There is this mechanism called priming, where the attention focuses on those external happenings that match our internal beliefs, ignoring all other happenings that would prove these beliefs wrong.

You determine what you see through your own tainted lenses. So, it is worthwhile to examine the stories we construct within our own minds.

Change Your Narrative

How to start? Just write down whatever comes to you following the principle of emergence.

Whatever emerges first, note it down. Don’t try to suppress any anxious thoughts due to some kind of self-censorship. This journaling is only for you.

Writing about your anxiety will likely allow you to sleep better because all those worries and anxieties that go round and round our minds, making it so difficult to fall asleep, will be out. Once you sleep better, you will also be able to focus better and see things more positively the day after. The benefits start already here!

Different publications offer many ideas about how to do therapeutic journaling. But the most important thing is that you write what comes to you without filtering.

The first benefit is getting it out of your system. Whether you follow a more structured approach or write freely, you will be able to see patterns of thought that repeat themselves again and again. You will be able to clearly realize how often our thoughts remain stuck in some negative past event while the situations we experience are not negative at all.

When we are triggered, we shut down, seeing only the hurt we carry within. Well, that’s basically how trauma works!

So, when you explore your thoughts by journaling, you will be able to examine your own attitude against the actual facts, the bare happenings.

How to Start

How to start might be one of the things that hold us back.

You can doodle in your notebook or paint, keep it very formal, or decorate it—it is your very own space.

Best Techniques: What You Can Look At

Here are some cues or techniques on how to approach your therapeutic writing that will help you start moving the pen when the notebook is still new and you are staring at a blank paper:

• What was the most important happening for me today?
• Struggles or challenges faced today—and how I dealt with them.
• What was on my mind today that I did not tell anyone?
• Am I putting myself last? If so, how? And what is the reason behind it?
• Explain the worst thing you experienced today and reframe it, looking at whatever positive was going along with it.
• How will I feel about it six months from now or in a year?
• Enumerate three things that I should remember whenever I am struggling.
• What did I do today that I would do differently tomorrow, and why?
• Write down a positive experience.
• After a long day, the way to be kind to myself will look like this

Free Flow:

Instead of suppressing negative thoughts, let them flow out. Let them surface and unburden yourself. It acts as a way of releasing anxiety, and you will sleep much better.

Dream Journaling:

Let dreams be your guides. Sometimes, dreams are just a blend of things we see, hear, or even experience in daily life, consciously or unconsciously. But often, dreams show what we are trying to cope with.

Our dream journal should be kept by our bedside, easy to access when we wake up. Dreams should be jotted down immediately because otherwise, we forget.

This journaling does not need to happen daily, just when you remember a dream that shows you something about what you are dealing with. Don’t neglect your unconscious mind!

Stay Inspired!

Read blogs, articles, books, paint, and go for walks—all of these activities will give you inspiration when you write. New ideas that you come across might provide you with fresh angles on things or reveal something about yourself that you had not seen before.

A good way to finish your daily narration is to put down the following points on a new page that will act as a summary of the day’s writing:

• realizations
• what I want to change
• things to remember for later follow-up

Gratitude as a Superpower

Conclude by expressing gratitude for a specific event of the day—whether it be a moment of joy, a kind gesture, or a new experience gained.

Gratitude holds immense power, wrapping up your therapeutic writing on a positive note to either prepare for a peaceful rest or a fresh start—depending on your journaling timeframe.

Cultivate this as a regular practice; therein lies its transformative strength.