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Therapy Ruined My Writing
At least until this happened…
Some of us writers are compelled to get the words out for our sanity. Not everyone is like this; many out there simply enjoy the thrill of building a scene or creating art with words. And those things are great, too, don’t get me wrong. But my writing came from a need to outpour so I didn’t drown in my own thoughts.
Therapy, however, destroyed all that.
With its healing-focused practices, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprogramming) helped to process burning thoughts that used to pile up and threaten my mental health. Previously triggering events are now filtered through a more efficient mind, able to untangle the weight and severity. While I’m no less impacted by my past, it no longer pokes and prods me to escape.
I don’t need to write to keep my head above water anymore. Now the processing can happen from within, often in real time. That should be a good thing, right?
Alas, for months this has been one of many huge stumbling blocks in my writing journey. If there’s no push to write for my sanity, then where’s the motivation to write going to come from? I enjoy crafting a good story now and then, but that’s not nearly as strong a driver. When “getting it out” isn’t the goal, and the need for validation evaporates, what remains to pull me back…
