Write It Out

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. -Earnest Hemingway

While a lot of my blogging seems to focus on physical health, I really am more drawn to educating people about how to be mentally and emotionally healthy.  I am going to spend the next few days talking about some various outlets to emotions that can help people make healthier choices.  Today is about writing.

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these folks write to confess

Many people will say "I can't write" or "I don't know what to write."  Here's the beauty of writing--if you are never going to share it, there is no reason that what you write has to be "good enough" for anybody.  And unless you have been given an assignment, there are no rules to writing--you just do it.  For those of us who are fortunate, they had an amazing Advanced English 10 teacher who gave them incredible writing skills that made college paper-writing a piece of cake.  For those who didn't, as long as your hands move, you can write.  Mr. Hemingway's quote above is a little outdated, at best, as I'm guessing most of us don't use typewriters.  His point, however, is incredibly valid.  If you want to write, just unleash and do it. 

I have a friend that keeps a list of everything because she likes to use writing as a way to record history.  She literally has books and books of lists of funny quotes we said in college, a list of things that make her happy, and lists of a sundry of other record-keeping subjects and experiences.  I have friends that write blogs, friends that write journals, friends that write song lyrics, friends that write letters to celebrities--but whatever it is, they write.  The beauty of paper (or a computer screen, for those who do it Doogie Howser style) is that it doesn't judge.  You won't be interrupted, be put down, or be ignored. 

and some write to share

Many of us spend our days stuck in a cycle of emotions that lead to unhealthy behaviors--creating conflict, over eating, skipping the gym workouts, sleeping to avoid, using drugs/alcohol--and by not acknowledging these emotions, we are simply giving ourselves permission to continue any of these self-destructive patterns.  Today, try something different--try using that emotion and putting it down, getting it out--and see where it leads you.

Best of luck--tell me what you wrote and what you discovered as a result.