Expressive writing is a creative outlet to purge yourself of the crap that is talking up space in your beautiful brain. Some things you may want to hold on to forever - nostalgic memories that deserve preservation. Other things may be better off pen to paper and then charred beyond recognition, never to be seen again. Whatever your reason for expressive writing, it is (mostly) a therapeutic outlet for you to create something. Whether it is beautiful, ugly, happy, sad, or just random thoughts with no rhyme or reason, it can be cathartic and it can help you Creatively Cope through whatever ails you.
In episode three, we did some research and found that the process can "help lower blood pressure, strengthen the immune system, increase general well being, reduce stress, anxiety and depression, improve sleep/performance and bring us greater focus and clarity". In as little as ten minutes a day, you can be on your way to improving the above mentioned issues. Maybe. But it's definitely worth a shot. For the price of a piece of paper and a pencil, you too can be on your way to healing what ails you. "Research suggests that trauma damages brain tissue, but that when people translate their emotional experience into words, they may be changing the way it is organized in the brain". Like little spreadsheets of neatly organized life events, laid out in order and in pretty, sorted folders. Life can be easier with some mental organization. Creativity is free and, like benzodiazipines, everyone is doing it. (I tease. NOT EVERYONE has to take an anti-anxiety pill to cope with life. I forget how the normal ((who the fuck are they and why aren't they teaching me)) folk survive this thing called life.)
Song writing was a hot topic as well. Mita and I reminisced about our childhood days of innocent poetry and forming girl bands with our friends. Mostly to lament about boys and the heartbreak that only a ten year old can actually understand. We found our way to song writing and some our favorite powerful singers that can still be heard, blasting from our boomboxes of memories, straight into our hearts. Music (listen to episode two, if you haven't already, to get a quick science lesson on how it affects your brain and your soul) mixed with the creativity of the written word is some powerful shit. Don't take my word for it... Think of one of the most profound and important events in your life. Can you see it? Now lay a soundtrack to it (if there isn't one there already). I bet its moving and goosebump- inducing. Because that's what effectual writing does... It punches you in the heartstrings or the mind and it gives you back some power, some grace and some control over your situation. And isn't that what coping is all about? Trying to survive the rough waters and be able to sit back and float as the reward? I think so.
**Above quotes were from D. Acevedo, https://hbr.org/2021/07/writing-can-help-us-heal-from-trauma
Go check out https://anchor.fm/creative-copes (or your favorite podcast listening platform) for all the fun you may be missing out on if you are not subscribed to our podcast. Plus, click the subscribe button for this too. Share your thoughts with me and feel free to leave any questions, comments or suggestions. Please keep in mind, I am a college dropout, so the grammar police do NOT need to let me know about my shitty punctuation, spelling or misuse of words. This blog is MY CREATIVE COPE, and I tend not to worry too much about that sort of thing. I mean, let me know about the grit and pearl shit. That is what drives me to keep writing.
Love and light, my favorite weirdos.... ♥ Jen
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