Writing Is Therapy.

Part of Looking After My Mental Health

I need to write.

That may sound dramatic, but writing is a vital part of my self care. It is one of a number of things I do to look after my mental health. And to be honest, the easiest, most enjoyable and most effective for me.

There are other things I do, keeping a strict sleep hygiene regimen, meditating, gardening and walking the dog (when my feet aren’t hurting). Having a wonky brain that tends towards depression is something that, despite everything I have tried over the years, doesn’t get cured. It does get managed as best I can. Repeatedly it is writing that has been my go to. Whether it be writing “stay calm” over and over again in the holding area of the family court to stave off a panic attack. Writing descriptions of the things around me in a cafe while waiting for my friends to arrive because my anxiety has made me stupidly early and now I feel awkward. Or even writing while watching a terrible play so that I can pretend I am writing a review instead of walking out. It can be my escape from what is going on around me and from what my brain is doing at that moment, or it can be a way of accepting what I am feeling and expressing it.

Writing has literally saved my life. Not figuratively, but literally. Without a creative outlet, I would not have made it.