Do you have any thoughts on therapeutic writing? Please feel free to share if you are so inclined.
Following is a snippet from me. 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!
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.
Therapeutic Writing
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- nekot
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Re: Therapeutic Writing
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.
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.
- preston
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Re: Therapeutic Writing
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.
Kinda like bouncing ideas off myself ... sometimes they bounce back and sometimes they stick to the wall.
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