Therapeutic writing: learn the technique to calm thoughts

If you've been suffering from racing thoughts, chances are that practicing Therapeutic Writing can help.

What is Therapeutic Writing?

Every day, more people report having difficulty dealing with their own thoughts, which is one of the main causes of anxiety.

And, if you constantly notice your mind overloaded with thoughts and this has brought fatigue, stress and even depressive crises, know that Therapeutic Writing can be an important tool to help reduce the problem.

Therapeutic Writing is a technique created by James W. Pennebaker in the 1980s, and basically consists of creating a personal diary, in which you describe your main feelings and thoughts through writing.

The idea behind this technique is to enable people to understand and organize their own thoughts, since the habit of writing promotes concentration, organization and clarification of the mind.

So, in this idea, basically the “patient” must create a personal diary that should only be read by himself, allowing him to write whatever comes to his mind, without fear of judgment or control.

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What are the advantages of Therapeutic Writing?

Some experts argue that Therapeutic Writing is a powerful tool in the treatment of loss of identity, anxiety and depression.

This is because, by being able to express our own ideas without worrying about the reaction of others, we can express everything that touches our essence, which helps with self-knowledge.

Check out the main advantages observed in practice below:

Understanding your own thoughts and feelings

If you feel lost or distressed, it is likely that you have already tried to talk to countless people about the subject, but for some reason, everything remained the same, or even got worse.

There are thoughts and feelings that only make sense to ourselves, because, no matter how much we try to explain, the other person's limitations do not allow them to fully understand.

Therefore, when practicing the Therapeutic Writing You stop expecting others to understand your emotions, and start making them clear to yourself.

It is not uncommon for us to be sad but believe we are angry. By putting everything down on paper, you can understand what is really bothering you and thus get to the real feeling.

“Pour out” your thoughts without worries

Exposing our deepest feelings and thoughts usually generates a certain fear, after all, no one has the obligation to deal with so much information from another person, right?

The advantage of Therapeutic Writing is that, in this case, your journal has no problem receiving all the “unloading” of thoughts. So, you can talk freely, without worrying about bothering or overloading anyone.

Reduction of emotional imbalances

Many of the emotional imbalances that result in crises are generated by the accumulation of repressed feelings and thoughts.

By putting everything on paper you won't be keeping everything to yourself, which helps reduce thoughts and mitigate emotions, reducing the incidence of crises.

Improved communication with others

Do you notice that you have frequently created friction in your relationships because you end up saying things without thinking, thanks to accumulated thoughts and feelings?

With the Therapeutic Writing It is possible to solve this, since you can express your feelings in the diary beforehand, and thus organize your mind before talking to other people.

This way, if before you would speak impulsively because you wanted to be heard, after writing about the situation this urge will have passed, allowing for clearer and calmer communication.

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Tips for practicing Therapeutic Writing

The practice of Therapeutic Writing brings several benefits, but for this to occur it must be done correctly.

For the technique to work, writing must be done freely, privately and honestly, and there are some secrets to achieving these results. Learn about them below:

1. Commit not to show it to anyone

The idea of Therapeutic Writing It is precisely to help express your thoughts without the need for them to be understood by anyone.

When we try to explain a particular difficulty to someone, we tend to “shape” the information in order to avoid judgment and facilitate understanding. That is not the idea of the technique.

Therefore, commit to not showing your Therapeutic Writing notebook or document to anyone, this way it will be easier to express your deepest feelings and thoughts without fear of judgment.

Sometimes, what holds us back is precisely not being able to say something for fear of other people's reactions, so transform your writing space into a private and safe environment that allows you to express what is really necessary.

2. Express your thoughts without worrying about logic.

When practicing the Therapeutic Writing, avoid doing this by prioritizing texts that make sense. Just try to express your thoughts. Like this:

“I feel nervous. Nothing seems to make sense, and my head feels like it’s spinning. Why can’t people always understand us or be kind? I’ve tried to talk, but it’s not working.”

Note that it doesn't make much sense, the paragraph seems like a compilation of accelerated and consecutive thoughts. The idea of therapeutic writing is precisely to put these thoughts on paper, and get them out of your head.

When we are experiencing anxiety attacks, thoughts come to our minds in exactly this way: disordered, illogical and one after the other, without any pause.

Put this on paper and force your brain to process it through writing, this way, the frequency of thoughts tends to decrease.

3. Have an easily accessible writing space

Excessive thoughts are what causes crises, whether they are anxiety or depression. It all starts with one thought after another, and before you know it, you can no longer concentrate on anything else because of the thoughts running through your mind.

Therefore, to practice Therapeutic Writing it is important that you have an easily accessible writing space, so that when the first thoughts arise, you can control them through writing.

Some people prefer notebooks, others use Word documents, while others opt for notes on their cell phones.

Choose the location that offers you the most comfort and ease of use, and it will certainly be easier to apply the technique in your daily life.

4. Don't worry about writing complete texts

A common difficulty with Therapeutic Writing is caused by the idea that it is necessary to create a text with an introduction, development and conclusion for each practice. This is not quite the case.

The idea behind this technique is not to trap you in tasks, but rather to allow you to express your ideas and thoughts freely and privately.

So, if you just need to write a sentence to get a certain thought out of your head, great. If you need a longer text, but without any order, that's also fine.

There are no rules in therapeutic writing, you will not be writing an essay, not even a production that will be read later.

So, write whatever comes to mind, without needing to make sense or be easy for readers to understand, after all, they shouldn't even exist in this project.

It is worth mentioning that each person will have their own way of applying Therapeutic Writing, since what is comfortable and invigorating for me may not be for you, and vice versa.

So, use writing to your advantage, and notice how much time and what type of communication helps you organize and reduce excess thoughts. It will certainly be very useful for your personal development.

Roberta July 19, 2024

Development