Writing Yourself Sane

Subject: Writing Yourself Sane Tue Jun 01, 2010 7:51 am

I was attracted to the title of this article because it spoke to how I got started writing. My journals have always been my therapists - well, excpet for that one year during the early 90's when I actually had a therapist.

There is some good stuff here.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5967770_write-yourself-sane.html?utm_source=eHOD&utm_medium=email&utm_content=5967770&utm_campaign=01_06_2010

I found this especially intriguing:

Quote :: Writing is not only for mental clarity; it also offers physical health.
Researcher James Pennebaker, a professor of psychology at the University
of Texas, found benefits to the immune system for individuals who wrote
for just 20 minutes per day over three or four days on a topic that is
emotionally difficult. Pennebaker's studies indicate that the release
offered by writing has a direct impact on the body's capacity to
withstand stress and fight off infection and disease. After the
publication of Pennebaker's studies, the medical and counseling fields
began looking at journal writing as a non-medicinal approach to
wellness.

Ann

Subject: Re: Writing Yourself Sane Tue Jun 01, 2010 4:48 pm

Nope. Working out at the gym gives me the best mental clarity and physical health. Writing makes me stupid and fat. No joke. I don't need to keep a journal to stay sane. I just try to avoid crazy people. lol.

Subject: Re: Writing Yourself Sane Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:46 pm

Everybody is different. That's a good thing. For me, I had a poster on the bulletin board in my classroom for years: How do I know what I think until I see what I say." I can't remember who said that first. anybody?

Ann

Subject: Re: Writing Yourself Sane Wed Jun 02, 2010 11:28 am

I don’t think you can write yourself sane. I think you can improve you mental wellbeing but that assumes you are not insane when you take to writing. I doubt that you can cure a mental illness by writing. The subject is a deep and interesting one (like all your posts Ann) and I would love to have sufficient time to contribute more (but I’m flat out writing).

Subject: Re: Writing Yourself Sane Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:03 pm

mike bryon wrote:: I don’t think you can write yourself sane. I think you can improve you mental wellbeing but that assumes you are not insane when you take to writing. I doubt that you can cure a mental illness by writing. The subject is a deep and interesting one (like all your posts Ann) and I would love to have sufficient time to contribute more (but I’m flat out writing).

From the article:

Quote :: Diaries and journals have been kept for centuries, but it wasn't until
the 1960s that the therapeutic value of journal writing was recognized.
After studying at the C.G. Jung from the New School for Social Research
in New York City, psychologist Ira Progoff began holding workshops
called the Intensive Journal method, which helped clients to heal
psychologically by writing about their life experiences.

Progoff's workshops have been validated. Anyone who was actually mentally ill would need to write under trained supervision, I would think.

I think, too that the article meant for us to take the word "sane" with a grain of salt.

I have used journals for self-exploration for years, and they were an invaluable tool for my students, helping them to make relevant connections between the literature they were reading and their own life experiences.

But that's just me.

Ann

Subject: Re: Writing Yourself Sane Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:21 pm

Oh, I'm sure writing is a stress reliever for some. No question. It's just that for me, spending so much time sitting in a chair trying to meet deadlines is more stressful than anything.

Subject: Re: Writing Yourself Sane Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:38 pm

Best I can say is that writing keeps me saner than I would be without it.

Malcolm

Subject: Re: Writing Yourself Sane Thu Jun 03, 2010 2:08 pm

Writing may keep one sane in the same way that dreaming does. Perhaps we let go and put onto paper those subconcious, subliminal things the brain stores up and holds in check until we sleep or sit down to write.

I wonder.

Writing takes me to a place that is more day-dream reverie than cognizant thought. I am often amazed at what I have written looking at it later. It often does not seem that it came from my conscious thought.

Love,
Betty