Creative writing is something I have done to support my mental health since I was a kid, it’s something I did naturally. I have also seen benefits in the participants of my writing groups, that I’ve been doing for the last 12 years.
One of the biggest things I’ve seen is that when you sit and write a story, you can escape reality for a while. Recently, at a group for adults, one of the participants finished writing a silly story and left with a huge smile on her face. She said she appreciated being there in the moment and being able to forget about all the things on her to do list as well as things that were happening in the world. She was able to create and escape reality for the hour we were writing.
Another thing I love is that I can draw on experiences in my life that may have been difficult and rewrite them to give a happy ending. I did this in my book, Swallow Me, NOW!. This book is based on my experiences being bullied at school and I was able to rewrite the ending to something I wish had happened. Even though it had been around 30 years since I left primary school, it was a way to process something I hadn’t even realised was still in my mind, and rewriting the ending was quite freeing for me. When you write a story based on your experience, you can rewrite the ending so it’s something you would like to see.
I struggle with journaling as it feels too close and feels like writing things down makes it permanent, especially when I’m right in the middle of something. Writing it in a story or poem is one step removed from me, and this helps it feel safer. I don’t need to worry about hurting someone’s feelings if they read it by accident (and this has happened), and helps me process things while being one step removed from whatever I’m going through. It also helps me see the situation through another perspective, by seeing it through the eyes of my characters.
When I’m writing, I’m there in the moment. I can forget about everything else that is happening for a while. It’s my form of mindfulness. I can write a silly story, a serious story, or something in between. Regardless of what I’m writing, I need to slow down and be present. This works much better for me than other forms of mindfulness like meditation or colouring in. My brain will slow down and focus on the story I’m working on in a way it doesn’t slow down at other times.
As I’ve mentioned before, when I write about things in a story, it’s my safe place to express myself. I can lose myself in the story, whether it’s something based on my own experiences or not. Creative writing is a safe place for me where I can experiment, escape, be silly, and so much more. It’s a place where I can be me, where I’m not worrying what others think, where I’m not thinking that I need to be a certain way or fit in. I can just be me.
These are just a few of the mental health benefits of creative writing that I’ve experienced over my life. If you would like to read more, my book, Creative Writing for Wellbeing, goes in to more details.
