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Psychology
You leave a record of experiences and reflections that helps us better understand our emotions
Putting into words what we feel, no matter how difficult it may be, is beneficial. Although we think that we have no talent for it, only the fact of writing, for us, without any artistic pretense, fills us with virtues. Although in a metaphorical way we say “that we get what we have from within,” it really is a way of opening ourselves up and expressing what we often struggle with and, which otherwise, we would not be capable of.
And, although of course, any time is good for it, summer becomes one of the best times to write. The psychologist Marta Ballesteros, from the TAP Center, comments that in summer, especially on vacation days, we have much more free time to be able to dedicate it to us. “These
Vacation days are a good time to find a space to be more reflective; focus on ourselves and our needs, and emotions ”, explains the professional. In this way, we may come to identify what it is that we need to “change” in order to feel better. “Writing is a good medium to give us the opportunity to express our needs, to help put order and give structure to those ideas, experiences or emotions, and to be able to channel those reflections and feelings in a more organized way,” says the psychologist.
Write as therapy
Marta Ballesteros goes on to comment that writing, in general, can be considered a very powerful therapeutic tool, since it has several health benefits; especially on a mental and emotional level. The professional highlights among these the help she gives us when it comes to ordering our thoughts, as well as bringing to light any negative or limiting experience, so she helps us overcome them. “Too, increases and promotes memory, creativity and the ability to learn; helps us express and communicate more clearly and concisely than verbally; we generate self-knowledge, since we better understand our own thoughts and it also makes us register our experiences, which is liberating and makes us channel stress », continues the psychologist.
Among the benefits that writing generally encompasses, there are also more specific ones, when we are talking about keeping a journal. Marta Ballesteros comments that by writing a diary with some regularity, we generate an awareness of our reality, thus giving more meaning to what happens in our environment. «Somehow, we learn to relativize those negative emotions associated with those lived experiences, really focusing on what we need. For this reason, carrying out an emotional or experiential diary helps us to release emotions, establish priorities and make decisions more clearly, ”says the professional.
Also with fiction?
If instead of writing about our experiences, we do it in fiction formats, this, although we are not aware, also entails benefits, as the psychologist explains that «it is an easier and more fluid way of express our deepest thoughts, which we would not dare to do in a more direct way ». “We take advantage of the resource of the imagination to help us release our fears and insecurities, releasing those emotions through the characters or invented stories,” he says.
Finally, we also talk about the benefits of reading what we wrote ourselves in the past. When revisiting the words, we re-experience how we feel at that time. Also, says the psychologist Marta Ballesteros, it helps us to promote memory, and reflect on what we were thinking at that time. “Rereading later, helps us to objectify that situation: we can see it from a more real prism, relativizing and talking about that experience without fear”, he comments and concludes: “These experiences have made us grow and learn, and therefore we can feel more motivated to keep going.