Writing is more than just a hobby or a profession. It can also be a powerful tool for improving your mental health and well-being. It can help you express yourself, understand yourself, and others and cope with challenges in life. Here are some of the benefits of writing for your mental health.
Mindfulness.
Writing can help you clear your mind and focus on the present. When you write, you are engaging in a form of mindfulness, which is the practice of paying attention to your thoughts and feelings without judgment. Mindfulness can help you reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and improve your mood and self-awareness. It is very much about being in the moment but paradoxically when you write, you are simultaneously living in that new world which you have created. The benefits of this are also clear, it Is the very reason why we read fiction and watch TV. It is a form of escapism and helps us get away from momentary problems. It often surprises me when I am writing that time flies. I’ve become so absorbed in this other world that it is almost taking over everything else. If it does not become an obsession, this too can be healthy for you.
Be at peace with your emotions.
The writing process can help you process your emotions and heal from trauma. It can assist you in finding words for things that are difficult to talk about, such as painful memories, fears, or conflicts.
Although you would have to be a detective to find them, there are tropes in my work which are based on real-life events, and it is possibly an easy way of expressing how they may have affected me. It can also help us to release negative emotions and gain new perspectives on our experiences thus becoming a form of therapy.
The creative process: learn new skills, knowledge, and attitudes.
Becoming an author can help you boost your creativity and self-esteem, tapping into your imagination and expressing your unique voice. Throughout the process you are expanding your knowledge and, particularly if you intend to self-publish, it can give you many new skills ultimately giving you a sense of accomplishment and pride and increasing your confidence and self-worth.
The process of seeing events from someone else’s perspective, even in a fictional setting, helps broaden our empathy and understanding. There is little doubt that writing fiction empowers emotional intelligence and a degree of learning what others may be going through. I write about a quite dysfunctional couple. Silas is autistic and has never had a girlfriend until he meets Wynnfrith who also lacks self-confidence. It takes months, almost years before anything is said between the two of them. However, the first time they are separated, they both believe that the idea of somebody being interested in them is in fact a delusion. The more I wrote about self-esteem, the more I realised that most people suffer from it at one time or another and such thoughts gave me deeper insights into human beings and how they function.
Community
Particularly through ASPA, writing can help you connect with others enhancing your ability to communicate your thoughts and feelings and build relationships based on mutual understanding and empathy. Writing can also help you explore your identity, values, and beliefs, and discover new aspects of yourself as well as others.
Writing, therefore, becomes an extension of self, making you a much more rounded person and inevitably developing those parts of you that you are proud of, that you like best.
Undoubtedly some challenges and trials come along with being a new or experienced author but the ASPA community can offer advice on how to get over all those hurdles.
If you need online help with your Mental Health try,
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