Writing is one of the best methods to openly release emotions when a person is unable or unwilling to seek psychological help.
Keeping a journal can be a fascinating journey for the mind to wrap itself around. When writing in a journal, it is best to write as if no one else will ever read it. Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation or handwriting. Just write from the heart.
Several years ago, I kept a journal when I was misdiagnosed with a medical illness. The thought of having an incapacitating disease depressed me and shut me down. I later learned the diagnosis was wrong, but for three months I was consumed with depression.
I first sought out a counselor to share my thoughts, but I personally found myself editing what I told him. “What will he think of me?” I wondered. I found that I would share with him the “big picture” but was only sharing the details with my journal, which I kept on my computer under password protection.
One day I returned to the counselor with a sample from my journal, and his jaw dropped. I clearly expressed myself better in writing than I was willing to express face-to-face. One day I had written, “I remain silent in much of my journey. The physical pain of a disease that is slowly overtaking my body is often combined with the heartfelt pain of those who wish to volunteer unsolicited, idealistic, simplistic, completely unrealistic solutions. When the enormity and immensity of these coupled pains become too intense, frustration and desperation arise within me. A silent angst emerges.”
My counselor encouraged me to write and to bring him what I wrote so that he could best guide and help me. Personally, I didn’t need medications nor did I need a psychiatrist. What I needed was to let my emotions out without fear of being judged. I prayed often to the Lord to console my heart, and He gave me the tools to openly share my thoughts privately with Him and with the few I allowed to read my journal.
When the diagnosis was lifted, I was left with a mini-book of my journey of three months. That has been five years ago and when I now read that journal, it is hard to believe that it was I who wrote it. I shared so freely and openly, and I ultimately would have forgotten the depth of my pain had I not kept record of it.
I learned there are alternatives to psychological help and the tools resided within myself.
