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How to create your own personal Writers' Corner:
Be creative!Make your own personal Journal. Give it a name! It's nice to make something especially for yourself. A bright
and cheary journal is more encouraging to write in than a plain copy book. Take pride in your journal.
Find a cosy,warm and quiet place in your home(drag the duvet or a load of cushions with you if need be!). Make this your writing
corner.
Set the scene and burn a candle. Candles are very relaxing and in my opinion, extremely thought provoking. Crystal candle
holders are especially nice as the light radiates through the crystal. In addition, many crystals have healing properties.
Rose quartz crystal and purple amethyst crystal are two beautiful crystals. Candle holders in these crystals can be found
in most crystal shops. Burning scents using either an oil burner or ioniser is also great way to relax while writing eg Jasmine and lavender.
Don't beat yourself up if you can't get to your writing corner frequently. Write when you can as it is helpful but don't be
annoyed with yourself if you don't get a chance.
Writing in the morning can be especially beneficial, before the hustle and bustle of daily life bombards your thoughts. Rise
30 minutes earlier and ease yourself into the day by taking time to do morning pages. After a while you'll see the benefits
of this form of journalling.
Be honest, try to write more on your thoughts and feelings than on your behaviours. Don't edit what you write.
If you have any tips on writing please don't hesitate to email! |
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Another personal opinion on the benefits of writing:
I have found writing to be an invaluable asset on my journey. It gets out what is boggled up inside, amongst all the chaos
and confusion. I have found that there are times when the pen has greater power than we realise. There have been times when
I have just sat down and written – I have just let the pen rip not knowing what was coming, as I had absolutely no idea what
I was feeling – but writing gets it out in a clear and concise way. I find that free-flowing writing is best. Unedited of
course, because by editing, you really are just lying to yourself. You do not necessarily have to show anyone if you don’t
want to!
I believe, that for me, writing has played an important role in my recovery, due to the fact that I am not a very forthcoming
person. I find it so hard to divulge any information to my counsellor – without being prompted in some shape or form. So,
instead I will drop hints, on occasion, in my letters to her, on what I would like to talk about. Hence, if I do not volunteer
the information myself, she can (hopefully) then steer the conversation towards a specific topic. I know that this is not
the ideal scenario, especially as our time together is limited, and if a lot has come up for me since I last saw her, she
would not necessarily know which topic(s) are of greater importance to me. I do not know whether or not, I will ever be able
to willingly, and openly, just volunteer information. Time is the key to that I’m afraid, and I’m no fortune-teller.
I am by no means saying that writing is easy – in fact far from it! But for me, it is safer than bringing something out into
the open through talking. I think, that this is probably due to the fact that one of the main causes of eating distress is
not talking/saying what is on our minds. We come experts at keeping things to ourselves. I guess this could be a reason
as to why writing is so much easier for me – it seems a far safer option. Besides, I can always edit a letter before sending
it, but you can’t take back what is said. There are days, and/or weeks that I simply cannot write – I may end up writing
today on what happened yesterday. This is particularly the case when I feel despondent, yet, that is probably the time that
I should be writing.
Currently my writing takes many forms – my regular letters to my counsellor, my journal, my attempt at poetry, and as of late,
writing letters to the media, to help bring awareness to those in the media on how harmful/helpful their articles relating
to body image, eating distress etc can be.
The good life is a process, not a state of being. The journey is the direction, not the destination. [Carl Rogers]
irishamethyst41@hotmail.com
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Writing is very helpful in recovery. This page contains personal accounts on how it has helped sufferers. It doesn't have
to be tedious! We'll give you a few tips on how to really set the atmosphere for creating your own personal writers' corner! |
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How writing has helped me |
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The benefits of writing: A personal view
The further through recovery I go the more I realise how valuable
and beneficial writing is to me. I would never have considered
myself a writer.. all you need do is go to the many people who
have asked me to write letters to them in vain!
I never liked English as a subject as I felt I wasn't good at
it and therefore never even considered keeping a diary. When
I first started attending Marino I was encouraged to start a
journal and have been keeping one since. In the beginning, I found
it hard as the only journals I had kept before were food journals
which monitored my food, mood and behaviour. For me these
journals dwelled entirely on food and at some stages of my
recovery these journals made me more obsessed with food. As for
logging down my mood, it was like going to confession with the
same two sins for years, I used the same two feelings!!
Often at the start, my journals would be full of negative
feelings but after a while you realise just what affects you in a
typical day and how you are reacting to it. When you read back you
can look at it more objectively and learn a bit about yourself.
As time goes by I am getting more clarity and I do understand
why I react to things and I can especially see it in my journal
writing. Writing for me helps to slow my thoughts and feelings down.
Before, my head was a jumble of confusion, I readily accepted
every negative thought in my head whereas when you write it down
it can help you to see what is making you so miserable. It
is also a great way of venting feelings that otherwise build
up like a pressure cooker waiting for your self-destruction to kick in.
In times when I feel I'm not making any progress and hopelessness starts to drag me down, I look back at journal entries and realise that although often subtle, the changes are there. This gives me hope and the knowledge that yes,
full recovery is for me and I'll get there.
I attended the writing workshop last year and from that found great benefit in keeping morning pages. This involves writing thoughts as they come into your head, straight after you wake up in the morning. I found that I became more aware of myself after a few months of keeping this journal. However, it gets tough when you already have to get up at 6am. Remaining in
bed while writing at that hour is a definite no no as I often found my face (after reawakening!) smudged with ink.
In regards to eating distress I have always found verbalising how I feel very hard, I end up saying precisely the opposite of what I mean to say. This has often resulted in friends and family who are trying to understand my condition avoiding conversations on the topic as they lead to screaming matches. They often got frustrated, as they couldn't understand me, I got frustrated as
they couldn't mind-read and see beyond my behaviours. All in all, I had no voice of my own. Writing has played a part in giving
me a voice and often after writing I feel I have more clarity of thought. I am better able to explain the condition to family and friends.
Presently my writing is taking the form of letter writing to magazines, newspapers, TV in relation to articles or programmes
on eating distress and body image that I like or dislike. Media has affected me greatly throughout the years and I have found
many articles triggering. By writing to magazines I find that I counteract the affects of negative articles on me. In addition,
writing gives me a sense of being someone who matters, having an opinion that counts. Many media sources don't respond to
the letters but that doesn't matter as I still feel I've given my say. When a media source does respond, it is rewarding, you
feel you've been heard and it is great, especially as I've felt for most of my life that what I thought or said was worthless,
I was worthless. In addition, up to this summer I was still unconvinced that I could fully recover. Full recovery was for
others but not for me. Since starting the letter campaign I find that I do know for certain that I will fully recover (I have
to say it as it's true even though my negativity is giving me good old familiar stabs!). I write in every letter that it is
possible and now I believe it myself and it gives me hope and energy to journey on through the ups and downs of recovery.
Overall writing is helping me a lot in my journey to recovery. I may not be Shakespeare but it really doesn't matter. These
are my thoughts and my opinions and it's great to be able to voice them.
Orlaith |
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Creative Writing
I have only recently started attending a creative
writing workshop, which is on every week. I am
still unsure as to what to make of it – but the
two that I have attended so far have been beneficial
to me, despite the fact that my writing is very
basic – I am most definitely not a Shakespeare,
or Sylvia Plath in the making. A lot of my
writing consists of poetry, which has been a great
way for me to get out what I do not understand.
I did not know whether or not I would be able to
share any of my writing, because in my eyes, it
is not very good (or at all). As I had said to
a couple of people before I went, and pigs might
fly, and you know what – despite the fact that
I did share some of my writing, I have seen no
flying pigs yet !!!
I found the first time I shared a piece of my
work to be empowering, which was written at a
time that I had no idea what I was feeling, or
what was going on – but the pen proved otherwise.
I suppose, that at that point I was probably
feeling a little (or a lot) on the overwhelmed
side.The last piece that I shared, was written
on my eating distress, but I was using love
(or lack thereof) as a metaphor to explain what
was going on – I want you here, I want you gone.
It has been beneficial to me in other ways too –
I actually told the people at the workshop about
my eating distress. I hate those words so much!
There have only been a few times that I have told
people, but this time it was different – it just
felt right.
No, I do not regret having shared
that part of me with these strangers – there
was no judgement (like I always feared) – they
were totally accepting of both my writing, and
the fact that I told them about my eating distress.
It turned out, that one of the people in the group
is herself recovered. Wonders will never cease…
irishamethyst41@hotmail.com |
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