In this day and age we live in, it feels like many of us need some form of therapy to better ourselves, which is both a scary and wonderful thing to admit. Sometimes we think therapy will fix all of our problems but if the therapy isn't directed to what you need, is it really helping? I have gone to therapists that as long as I said I was doing okay and got her off topic about anything else going on, she assumed I was okay and moved on with the session. Do we as humans really need to spend hundreds of dollars on therapy sessions that as long as you say you are okay, that you don't really need the help? Can there be other forms of therapy that can be better centered on what we personally think would better help us and push us to be the better version of ourselves? The true question is: Can writing be a form of therapy?
Writing can be described in many ways, all of which could be beneficial to the mental health of someone. Writing can be relief from a bad day. Writing can be a comedy that makes you smile. Writing can be the answers to many questions that circulate in your head. Writing can be the only safe space you have where others won't know the true stories of what might or might not have happened. The fact that writing can be anything you want it to be can help someone on so many different levels. It can do magical things, whether that be just venting or exploring the unknown.
An open sheet of paper can suddenly turn into paragraphs of emotions that normally wouldn't be expressed in the outside world. Stories with dates of importance could mean the absolute world to the writer but to the reader, it is just another date in the book. That is the fun thing about writing and how it can be used for therapy; unless the story is told and explained in every detail, nobody truly knows what really happened and doesn't need to know because the two don't have to be connected. For me personally, writing is my safe place. It is the one place where I feel I can express however I am feeling and hope nobody is able to decode what it really means. I have writings that were intentionally cries for help at some of my darkest times. It was easier for me to write a fictional story with the strong emotions I was feeling then to actually deal with the emotions on my own. Of course, over time, I dealt with these emotions and am bettering myself every day. But when these emotions were fresh in my mind, it was easier to write about how I felt, then to open up about it with family and friends who I don't feel would understand how I was feeling at the time.
We live in a world today, where we would rather stick to ourselves and not let others in. This can be a bad thing and a good thing because if we let these negative thoughts and emotions circle in our heads with no desire to cry for help, they can lead us down dangerous paths. So the answer to this question: Yes, writing can be a form of therapy and very useful to those who love to write. It may not be for everyone, and that is just the way therapy works. There is no perfect solution; there are only many possible solutions that with time and support can become one of the best things to happen and turn your life around. Writing can be whatever you want it to be and should become a safe space if need be.
