During a recent interview with Erie Times-News reporter, David Bruce, who was writing a piece on my M.S. diagnosis and this blog, Dave asked me: “So, Kim, what do you get out of this [writing the blog]?” One of my answers to him was that I find writing to be very therapeutic. Many people journal the stories of their lives. Blogs (short for “Web-logs”) are no different really than journals, albeit electronic, and sometimes public ones.
Since I was a child, I would start journal after journal. I’ve shopped at book stores and writing centers to pick out artfully covered and bound diaries. I usually would buy a new pen or two to help solidify the commitment. I would make written promises between the book and myself that I would write every, single day. If I made it past two, solid weeks of writing each time, I was lucky. As a kid, I worried someone would find my journal and all my secrets would be exposed. Ooh, some of the stories that were held within those sacred pages! As an adult, I just didn’t make the time to write. I write for my doctoral Program, I write for work, I write for my T.V. segments, and I write when necessary. But, I never really made the time to write for me – despite the fact that I truly enjoy the art of writing.
I find it ironic that despite my previously commitment-phobe attitude towards writing, and my earlier fears about secrecy, that now I blog daily and I use a forum accessible to the entire world. There isn’t a way to put one of those cute, little locks, able to be opened with only that tiny, metal key onto my web site. Sure, I can make everyone have to pre-register and be pre-approved to view and comment on my work, but that sorta defeats the whole purpose of blogging, doesn’t it? It now seems natural and easy for me to write each and every day and it doesn’t matter anymore who knows my most personal thoughts and stories. How odd.
“Researchers once believed that the main benefits of writing were purely psychological. But there is new evidence of the health value of forming coherent stories out of the chaotic elements of your personal history” (Perry, 2001). Well, that’s good news, isn’t it? If writing will help both my mental and physical health, I doubt I will face commitment issues any longer. For me, writing helps me to understand my own feelings, attitudes, and innermost thoughts. People used to call it “the power of the pen”, but now it’s often the “power of the keyboard.”
I believe anyone can be or become a writer, regardless of skill, experience, or education level. You really do just have to write about something with which you are familiar, and something that is of personal interest or intrigue. So, if you are seeking a deeper level of peace; a way to reconnect with yourself or to touch others; or just an outlet for your emotions, consider picking up that pen, or turning on that computer. And, for those of you who have read this blog to date, thank you for contributing to my own personal therapy and to my own personal experience.
I’ve posted a number of book recommendations for my readers here. Hopefully, one of these might inspire you to become a writer yourself.
Perry, S. (December/January, 2001). Right here, right now. Psychology Today.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Healing Gardens
Writing Out the Storm
(And my new personal favorite): Writing to Heal the Soul
During a recent interview with Erie Times-News reporter, David Bruce, who was writing a piece on my M.S. diagnosis and this blog, Dave asked me: “So, Kim, what do you get out of this [writing the blog]?” One of my answers to him was that I find writing to be very therapeutic. Many people journal the stories of their lives. Blogs (short for “Web-logs”) are no different really than journals, albeit electronic, and sometimes public ones.
Since I was a child, I would start journal after journal. I’ve shopped at book stores and writing centers to pick out artfully covered and bound diaries. I usually would buy a new pen or two to help solidify the commitment. I would make written promises between the book and myself that I would write every, single day. If I made it past two, solid weeks of writing each time, I was lucky. As a kid, I worried someone would find my journal and all my secrets would be exposed. Ooh, some of the stories that were held within those sacred pages! As an adult, I just didn’t make the time to write. I write for my doctoral Program, I write for work, I write for my T.V. segments, and I write when necessary. But, I never really made the time to write for me – despite the fact that I truly enjoy the art of writing.
I find it ironic that despite my previously commitment-phobe attitude towards writing, and my earlier fears about secrecy, that now I blog daily and I use a forum accessible to the entire world. There isn’t a way to put one of those cute, little locks, able to be opened with only that tiny, metal key onto my web site. Sure, I can make everyone have to pre-register and be pre-approved to view and comment on my work, but that sorta defeats the whole purpose of blogging, doesn’t it? It now seems natural and easy for me to write each and every day and it doesn’t matter anymore who knows my most personal thoughts and stories. How odd.
“Researchers once believed that the main benefits of writing were purely psychological. But there is new evidence of the health value of forming coherent stories out of the chaotic elements of your personal history” (Perry, 2001). Well, that’s good news, isn’t it? If writing will help both my mental and physical health, I doubt I will face commitment issues any longer. For me, writing helps me to understand my own feelings, attitudes, and innermost thoughts. People used to call it “the power of the pen”, but now it’s often the “power of the keyboard.”
I believe anyone can be or become a writer, regardless of skill, experience, or education level. You really do just have to write about something with which you are familiar, and something that is of personal interest or intrigue. So, if you are seeking a deeper level of peace; a way to reconnect with yourself or to touch others; or just an outlet for your emotions, consider picking up that pen, or turning on that computer. And, for those of you who have read this blog to date, thank you for contributing to my own personal therapy and to my own personal experience.
I’ve posted a number of book recommendations for my readers here. Hopefully, one of these might inspire you to become a writer yourself.
Perry, S. (December/January, 2001). Right here, right now. Psychology Today.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Healing Gardens
Writing Out the Storm
(And my new personal favorite): Writing to Heal the Soul