Monday 20 January 2014

THE THERAPY OF WORDS


I've just finished reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (magical) and in the 'Conversation with the Author' section at the back, she mentions something that Isak Dinesen, who wrote Out of Africa once said:
"All sorrows can be borne if we put them in a story or tell a story about them."

So true. And it made me think how powerful words, and writing them down, can be - even if we don't tell a story.

Even if you only write a list, you'll no doubt have experienced the relief, and ease of mind that can come with moving something from your mind, out onto a piece of paper.

Everyone will have been through tough times in life, and sometimes, carrying sadness or troubles inside can be too weighty to bear. Turning those feelings into words can truly lighten the load.

And if you can tell a story at the same time, so much the better, although I think you'd have to be careful to find the right balance between emotional outpouring and creative construction.

Ever since I was given a Five Year Diary when I was thirteen, I've kept a journal, and it's true that whenever I've been through difficult times, writing things down has always been a relief and a help.

I volunteer for Cruse, (a UK charity offering free bereavement counselling) and I often suggest to people who are grieving, or/and angry or going through one or several of the emotions that follow the loss of someone loved, that they try writing their feelings down. Or maybe writing down the words they never spoke, but always wanted to, to the ones they loved and who are now gone.

Graham Greene wrote: "Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation."

Ah yes, the wonderful power of words, and writing - where would we be without them?


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