Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight both as a therapist and writer. It is invaluable and whilst the fact that writing for wellbeing is seeing a boom and that's a great thing, this is so important.
As a therapist who increasingly uses writing with clients, I’ve found this post really helpful and reassuring. On a personal level, after all these years of journalling and expressive writing, I usually know where the edge of my comfort zone lies and whether/when to cross it (and to what extent, if I choose to do so). This sometimes feels much more difficult to gauge though in my professional life. Lots to think about! 🙏
Thank you so much for sharing this, Nicola. Yes, I agree with you that this can be very difficult to gauge in woring with others, especially if people feel they need to 'push' themselves to write about difficult things, or perhaps are trying to please us. Writing can be a wonderful tool for so many people. I think it's all about helping people to find what works best *for them* - and of course this may change and evolve too.
Hi Sophie, I am so glad for your words and perspective on this topic. I run a Writing for Better Mental Health short course here (and in person) based very loosely on the Pennebaker Method, which you'll know is predicated on the findings that writing about things we've held inside and not yet shared can have a beneficial impact on both our mental and physical health.
I am not a mental health professional, and encourage everyone who takes part to go gently with themselves and seek appropriate support if required. I don't advocate diving into the deep stuff straight away (or ever), but do invite participants to write in short, timed bursts using a variety of prompts that might help them locate and explore the source and experience of any anxiety, pain, sadness or shame.
I also really welcome your honesty around how difficult it can be to write about some of our experiences, and resonate with your feeling towards your birth story, in particular. I left a really long comment on Joanna Wolfarth's post on birth trauma recently, which demonstrated to me (nearly 12 years on!) that I am still not over it. I still haven't found a way to accept that story as part of mine and my daughter's. I might write more about it, but then again, maybe the intensity of my reply shows I'm not ready yet either.
Hi Lindsay, Thank you so much for sharing both your professonal and personal perspectives here. I'm so appreciative of these opportunties for conversation around this topic. I'm wishing you all the time and space you need to find the story that feels right for you. For me, I think it has been about finding a way to be *with it* rather than *over it*... I offer this, just in case it resonates for you too.
I'm currently working (very slowly!) on an update to this paper, trying to incorporate some of what I've learned and what I've been thinking about in the intervening years.
I'm so grateful to connect with you here. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment.
Thank you so much for this generous sharing, Sophie. I look forward to reading and reflecting on your work and am sure that all of your ongoing research and experience will be feeding you in ways that will only make this research richer.
Thank you 🙏🏼 This speaks to me like a sweet salve at a perfect time: choosing the story 'spine' of a short film. Some of us feel truly, madly, deeply called to share our traumatic stories in public. We sense somebody somewhere needs the medicine of our specific healing journey. Still, my soul guided me to stop performing my one-woman show, which meant reliving a nightmare moment over and over... even though it led to massive transformation. Grateful for the nuance here.
Thank you for a great session. I’m very appreciative of you and hearing from everyone else - writing and commenting or listening together 🙏🏻xx
We are very appreciative of you, Hilary! 💜x
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight both as a therapist and writer. It is invaluable and whilst the fact that writing for wellbeing is seeing a boom and that's a great thing, this is so important.
Thank you, Candi. 💜 Yes, a really good thing when we can help people to enjoy writing as safely as possible.
As a therapist who increasingly uses writing with clients, I’ve found this post really helpful and reassuring. On a personal level, after all these years of journalling and expressive writing, I usually know where the edge of my comfort zone lies and whether/when to cross it (and to what extent, if I choose to do so). This sometimes feels much more difficult to gauge though in my professional life. Lots to think about! 🙏
Thank you so much for sharing this, Nicola. Yes, I agree with you that this can be very difficult to gauge in woring with others, especially if people feel they need to 'push' themselves to write about difficult things, or perhaps are trying to please us. Writing can be a wonderful tool for so many people. I think it's all about helping people to find what works best *for them* - and of course this may change and evolve too.
Hi Sophie, I am so glad for your words and perspective on this topic. I run a Writing for Better Mental Health short course here (and in person) based very loosely on the Pennebaker Method, which you'll know is predicated on the findings that writing about things we've held inside and not yet shared can have a beneficial impact on both our mental and physical health.
I am not a mental health professional, and encourage everyone who takes part to go gently with themselves and seek appropriate support if required. I don't advocate diving into the deep stuff straight away (or ever), but do invite participants to write in short, timed bursts using a variety of prompts that might help them locate and explore the source and experience of any anxiety, pain, sadness or shame.
I also really welcome your honesty around how difficult it can be to write about some of our experiences, and resonate with your feeling towards your birth story, in particular. I left a really long comment on Joanna Wolfarth's post on birth trauma recently, which demonstrated to me (nearly 12 years on!) that I am still not over it. I still haven't found a way to accept that story as part of mine and my daughter's. I might write more about it, but then again, maybe the intensity of my reply shows I'm not ready yet either.
Hi Lindsay, Thank you so much for sharing both your professonal and personal perspectives here. I'm so appreciative of these opportunties for conversation around this topic. I'm wishing you all the time and space you need to find the story that feels right for you. For me, I think it has been about finding a way to be *with it* rather than *over it*... I offer this, just in case it resonates for you too.
I also humbly include, in case it's of interest, a link to a paper I wrote in 2009 on Pennebaker's Expressive Writing paradigm: 'Beyond Expressive Writing.' https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1359105308100201
I'm currently working (very slowly!) on an update to this paper, trying to incorporate some of what I've learned and what I've been thinking about in the intervening years.
I'm so grateful to connect with you here. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment.
Thank you so much for this generous sharing, Sophie. I look forward to reading and reflecting on your work and am sure that all of your ongoing research and experience will be feeding you in ways that will only make this research richer.
Beautiful art!!
Thank you, Elena! This means such a lot to me, as an admirer of your beautiful work. 💜✨
Thank you 🙏🏼 This speaks to me like a sweet salve at a perfect time: choosing the story 'spine' of a short film. Some of us feel truly, madly, deeply called to share our traumatic stories in public. We sense somebody somewhere needs the medicine of our specific healing journey. Still, my soul guided me to stop performing my one-woman show, which meant reliving a nightmare moment over and over... even though it led to massive transformation. Grateful for the nuance here.