There’s power in writing

Earlier today I wrote a very personal story about my ongoing struggle with persistent unhappiness and how today felt like the straw that broke the camel’s back.

These deeper issues will not go away. I still feel unhappy or numb in the quiet moments. But writing helped me feel better today.

After writing and publishing my story I demanded myself to feel better. It didn’t work. So I forced myself to write something. It had to be positive and upbeat.

It wasn’t easy.

I didn’t want to focus on something happy. But I forced myself and I pushed through it. In writing something positive I couldn’t wallow in my problems or the scary thought that I wanted to kill myself in a car accident. I had to kick myself out of that dark place and into a lighter one.

If I tried to just ‘make’ myself think more positively I would have failed. But writing myself towards positive thoughts helped, far better than I even thought possible. And I ended up writing something pretty good (when comparing it on my caliber of writing that is).

Writing truly is a form of therapy. It helps more than you can think. And sharing it helps too. The knowledge that perhaps one person will know your story and understand a side of you others couldn’t helps.

The unhappiness is still there, rotting away in my soul. But today I took some action. I acknowledged it and talked about it. Then I took the first step to actively try and overcome it.