Writing as therapeutic?

[jmassat]

I'd heard people say that writing can be like therapy. Has that ever been true for you?

One of my friends writes about the crap life puts them through all the time, but says it's never felt therapeutic. Sure, the act of writing through their troubles has made those troubles useful, and can help others get through rough patches in their own lives, but it doesn't...help my friend, y'know?

As for me, I mainly write for the fun of it and for the satisfaction I get from completing a project. Fulfilling, yes, therapeutic, no. Except the one time I felt jilted and immediately vomited onto a page for 30 minutes. That felt kind of good, in the same way that venting does.

[alextsarace]

what's for me I found out that writing can be a bit like diary.
I have my characters and due to genres i'm into they usually face a lot life shit, so writing about how they cope with it, get through their worst times feels extra helpful and even relief.
it must be a personal matter, but the analogy and similar sutuations in my texts help me to rethink and find solutions sometimes for my own issues.

[HGohwell]

I think it's like all therapeutic things, it'll work for some and not for others. You've got to find your own thing and your own way of doing it. For instance, when I want catharsis through writing, I don't writer about what has happened to me particularly, I just pick a character and, to put it bluntly, torture them. In a sort of I'm frustrated and angry and there's a release in making something even a fictional something hurt. In the same sort of way some people will punch a punching bag or I know some people that just go out into the middle of nowhere and yell. And I know that some people find writing journals helps gets their heads in order and think straight and maybe that's therapeutic for them. I'm not sure how much it would help for something more serious, but it can be a good way to vent for some people.

[Dysis]

When I'm mad, I write whatever comes to my mind. And then, days later, I view it objectively to see what kind of a creation I am.

Therapeautically speaking, I see how silly my anger was and it helps me take my next bouts of anger less seriously.

[KariMcElroy]

I definitely think it CAN be true, but it's not always the case. Sometimes . . . it's just work. Especially when a mean case of writer's block kicks in and all you can do is slog through. But there are absolutely those times where I'll spill something out on the page without thinking and realize later, Oh sh**: there's something true-to-me there. I think we creative types can turn anything into therapy at some point or another.

[therosesword]

I think it depends on what your idea of therapeutic is.

I find it therapeutic to put myself into my characters lives and away from my own if things are getting tense (I have an elderly cat that's getting closer and closer to "that" decision. Very stressful.)

Also, I have to admit, if there's someone I really would like to slap up side the head making them the victim in a murder mystery (in a particularly gruesome way) does wonders. (snark)

Write hard, write true.

[saintc]

Has that ever been true for you?

I can see how it can be therapeutic for many people, but for me, not really. If anything I mostly write under high stress. (When I am ill, short bursts like NaNoWriMo, in the noisy as hell train station etc.) But then, I don't necessarily like the process of writing. I like stories, and I like telling them... just not the fact that I have to write them.

Brainstorming, reading, and outlining on the other hand can be very exciting and stress reductive for me.

[shfra13]

I like writing, I enjoy writing, but writing fictional stories.... I don't really think it's inherently therapeutic for me. Especially, since I have trouble with my ability to focus, and that hinders my writing, all the while my mind keeps getting flooded with ideas.

If we're talking about writing in general, however, it can be. Writing down things I'm grateful of, or generally things that happened in one day like a diary, definitely has been quite therapeutic for me. Whether it was a bad day or a good day, I love writing down what happened or what I did for the day. I like looking back at my diary, recalling what good things happened the past few weeks, few months. Definitely kinda therapeutic.

[surenlicious]

Of course. I found it put much of my life and the hardship in perspective. It's been my to-go-to for being able to speak my mind freely. It's why I love writing stories too, and why I choose the novel format rather than a comic.

[LCT_m_a_d]

I write lot's of quote ideas which I find therapeutic. I sometimes caption them in my art pieces.

[alexlcuri07]

I actually began my story for therapeutic purposes. I wanted to see a character who had nearly crippling anxiety be an action hero to make myself feel better about my own anxieties. So for me, even writing my novel is inherently therapeutic. I treat writing a lot like my traditional art work. Sure, it's fun, but a little part of me always ends up on the page.

There is also the actual process of writing--whether by hand or typing-- that I find very relaxing. I try to write at least every day, and Bullet Journal in my free time.

[MeltingCORE]

It definitely is! I tend to refract my life through my stories as I find it uncomfortable to just outright be like "yeah, this is the dark crap that was forced onto me". And so for me, I definitely find it therapeutic to take all the pain I've been through, all the people who have hurt me, and turn it into something I meaningful that I have control over that I also enjoy. (Yay worldbuilding/character creation!)

[joannekwan]

Absolutely! My novel saved me from creative burnout from working on my comics.
I've also got another novel in the works that I'm using to process my own feelings of inadequacy.

[Pony_wearing_a_hat]

Writing flawed characters means writing characters with problems, and sometimes those are my problems. I'll occasionally give a character a good cathartic rant/monologue about what is on their mind, and that always feels really good. I'm more in tune with myself when I am in examining my characters and arcs. Therapeutic for sure.

[Missapogee]

I think, along with writing as a way of journaling/ projecting your feelings in a way you usually wouldn't, writing is therapeutic just by nature. It's an opportunity to sit down and do something low that (hopefully) you enjoy. It's productive, an outlet for thoughts, and forces you to take a step out of your usual thoughts, which I think is pretty good for stress.

Of course, if you put yourself on harsh deadlines or put yourself in stressful situations, it's a totally different story.

[foxnflames]

Getting the story down and wanting it to be the best it can be is stressful but brainstorming, thinking about my characters, and piecing it all together is so rewarding.

The therapeutic part for me is that I’ve learned a lot about myself writing my WIP. Not just growing as a writer but as a person. Which is great because this is far from what I wanted to originally write. A little random idea grew without me realizing it, like it was begging to be written haha

[SagaHolmgaard]

I think so. I tend to, not really put my own life into my stories, but definitely my own emotions. I feel anxious a lot, so I write as though one of my characters feel the same anxiety, even of we aren't in similar positions at all. Stuff like that helps, it kind of let's me exptress myself without having so talk about my own life?

Also, writing fanfiction is like the only creative thing I do 100% for myself. I don't even feel the need to publish it - it's stories written literally just for me and that's very freeing, in a situation where the pressure is increase to try to make a career out of your hobbies. That can be therapeutic as well, I think.

[kmlangleyauthor]

I find it very therapeutic (usually). It’s a helpful way for me to process my emotions without literally sitting down and going, “okay, how do I feel right now and why do I feel this way?” My brain is constantly coming up with characters and scenarios, so writing them also helps get them out of my head (otherwise they’ll just build up and haunt me forever ). Forcing myself to write when I’m low on inspiration or on a deadline is not at all therapeutic for me, though

[colorgoat]

It can be, yeah! My characters often have flaws that reflect my own issues/anxieties at least vaguely (write what you know, baby), so writing them can be cathartic. Sometimes, by mapping out their development, it can even inadvertently give me ways to cope in real life.

[KariMcElroy]

I think, along with writing as a way of journaling/ projecting your feelings in a way you usually wouldn't, writing is therapeutic just by nature. It's an opportunity to sit down and do something low that (hopefully) you enjoy. It's productive, an outlet for thoughts, and forces you to take a step out of your usual thoughts, which I think is pretty good for stress.

Of course, if you put yourself on harsh deadlines or put yourself in stressful situations, it's a totally different story.

I agree with this: the core nature of writing is therapeutic, even if just for the fact that it's a creative outlet. It doesn't necessarily have to mean we're pouring our damages onto the page, but we are getting SOMETHING out. But, like anything, it can be contorted into something unhealthy if we pile on the strain and the deadlines and pressure and comparisons and all that stuff. Not to say deadlines can't or shouldn't exist, but I know I've put myself in situations where I've completely removed the joy from art because I'm trying so hard to get something done in a certain time frame. Anyway, yeah: well said, @Missapogee