Writing to ease your mind

When something bad happens, we often relive the event over and over in our heads, rehashing the pain. This process is called rumination; it’s like a cognitive spinning of the wheels, and it doesn’t move us forward toward healing and growth.

The practice of writing can move us forward by helping us gain new insights on the challenges in our lives. It involves free-flow writing continuously for 20 minutes about an issue, exploring your deepest thoughts and feelings around it. The goal is to get something down on paper, even a list can help.

A recent study found that participants who did Free-flow writing for four days were healthier six weeks later and happier up to three months later, when compared to people who wrote about superficial topics. In writing we’re forced to confront ideas one by one and give them structure, which may lead to new perspectives. We’re actually crafting our own life narrative and gaining a sense of control. It also helps to declutter your brain and free up space for more positive thinking to get stored.

Practice free-flow writing for 20 minutes a day. You can choose to have a title or not. Whatever comes into your mind, you just empty onto the page. If the writing is an exploration of something negative, it can be thrown away in a ritualistic way to symbolise that this issue, once written about, has gone. If positive, it can be held onto and read when our mood is flat and we need a lift.

If you find a topic is coming up again and again and there is no relief, it may be time to book a session and get some professional help.

kmrcounselling

Writing can be therapeutic and improve mental wellbeing