Therapeutic Writing

Moderators: thief of dreams, nekot

Post Reply
User avatar
nekot
Poetry Piper
Posts: 1568
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:11 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

Therapeutic Writing

Post by nekot » Wed Nov 07, 2007 1:07 pm

Do you have any thoughts on therapeutic writing? Please feel free to share if you are so inclined. :bow:

Following is a snippet from me. :grin: Just some thoughts on writing as a therapeutic tool.

My life changed in a dramatic way when I began to consistently journal nine years ago. There were years I wrote everyday often hiding in my journal, parts of me I would let no one see. I have about 14 books written and from time to time I peruse one with the wonderment: "Where was I five years ago at this time of year?" The "where" referring to the emotional/mental/spiritual state of my life more than the physical.

When I began to journal I started off mainly expressing deep pain and deep shame. Eventually though, dreams began to emerge. And some of these dreams are now realities, in less than 9 years. Hey, that's pretty good! :wink: :thumbsup:

I realized one year that these dreams are "goals." I chuckled to myself for prior to journaling I shied away from goals, though I went through the motion of writing some down; I always fell short of my written ideals.

Goal setting had been a duty I performed. Journaling was a love affair and dreams were born. In recent years, poetry and prose is often conceived from a journal entry.

When I allowed the free flow of thought and imagination, when I allowed myself to feel, to honestly sit with those feelings....I began to know myself. From there dreams emerged, for it didn't matter if they came to pass or not. After all, they were only dreams. Yet, almost magically, some have come to pass: a renewed marriage, our current home, renewed health, spiritual growth....to name a few.

So for me, writing has been highly therapeutic.

In the next post is a list I received on a handout from a psychologist; the purpose was to help me identify emotions I was feeling, to be aware of myself. To me, it is like an emotional thesaurus.

Perhaps someone will find it useful. :grin:
~eloquently scattered~
nekot's tokens

Image

User avatar
nekot
Poetry Piper
Posts: 1568
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:11 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

Re: Therapeutic Writing

Post by nekot » Wed Nov 07, 2007 1:09 pm

Thesaurus for Emotions

Love Words: love, adoration, affection, arousal, attraction, caring, charmed, compassion, desire, enchantment, fondness, infatuation, kindness, liking, longing, lust, passion, sentimentality, sympathy, tenderness, warm


Joy Words: joy, amusement, bliss, cheerfulness, contentment, delight, eagerness, ecstasy, elation, enjoyment, enthrallment, enthusiasm, euphoria, excitement, exhilaration, gaiety, gladness, glee, happiness, hope, jolliness, joviality, jubilation, optimism, pleasure, pride rapture, relief, satisfaction, thrill, triumph, zaniness, zest, zeal


Sadness Words: sadness, agony, alienation, anguish, crushed, defeat, dejection, depression, despair, disappointment, discontentment, dismay, displeasure, distraught, gloom, glumness, grief, homesickness, hopelessness, hurt, insecurity, isolation, loneliness, melancholy, misery, neglect, pity, rejection, sorrow, suffering, unhappiness, woe

Anger Words: anger, aggravation, agitation, annoyance, bitterness, contempt, cruelty, destructiveness, disgust, dislike, envy, exasperation, ferocity, frustration, fury, grouchiness, grumpiness, hate, hostility, irritation, jealousy, loathing, mean-spiritedness, outrage, rage, resentment, revulsion, scorn, spite, torment, vengefulness, wrath


Fear Words: fear, apprehension, anxiety, distress, dread, edginess, fright, horror, hysteria, jumpiness, nervousness, overwhelmed, panic, shock, tenseness, terror, uneasiness, worry


Shame Words: shame, contrition, culpability, discomposure, embarrassment, guilt, humiliation, insult, invalidation, mortification, regret, remorse


Other Important Emotion Words:

Interest, excitement, curiosity, pique, intrigue.
Weariness, dissatisfaction, disinclination.
Shyness, fragility, reserve, bashfulness, coyness, reticence.
Cautiousness, reluctance, suspiciousness, caginess, wariness.
Surprise, amazement, astonishment, awe, startle, wonder.
Boldness, bravery, courage, determination.
Powerfulness, a sense of competence, capability, mastery.
Dubiousness, skepticism, doubtfulness.
Apathy, boredom, dullness, ennui, fidgetiness, impatience, indifference, listlessness.
~eloquently scattered~
nekot's tokens

Image

User avatar
preston
Forever Silent Friend
Posts: 756
Joined: Thu Oct 24, 2002 12:01 am
Location: Lone Star State

Re: Therapeutic Writing

Post by preston » Wed Nov 07, 2007 3:40 pm

If I'm writing for myself ... it tends to be more therapeutic than if I'm writing something I'm planning on posting.
Kinda like bouncing ideas off myself ... sometimes they bounce back and sometimes they stick to the wall.

:computer:

Post Reply

Return to “Poet Laureate October 2007 - March 2008: Nekot”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests