Sometimes when you are working on a machine or a piece of equipment it is helpful to shine a light on the area that you are working on, so that you can see better how everything is connected.
The same is true for ourselves. Though we may not physically shine a light into our body, we can notice how our body is connected to our pain.
In The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, we learn about how the brain, mind, and body all work together to hold onto, but also heal from trauma. In a study done at University of Texas, Austin, Van Der Kolk writes that a group of psychology students were asked to write about a deeply personal traumatic experience. They learned that “those who reported a traumatic sexual experience in childhood had been hospitalized an average of 1.7 days in the previous year” (241). They found further that hospitalization times were further reduced as students learned to see writing as a tool to work through and resolve their trauma.
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the ability to express ourselves through the written word. There is beauty in being able to express our ways in writing that we cannot always express through verbally discussing a topic or issue in our lives. Moving forward, help us to find the words that we need to help us write through our experiences good or bad and enter a world filled with more peace, trust, strength and discipline. Amen.
3 Ways to Write Yourself Healed
1. Write a letter to yourself telling the story of your experience. Then suggest ways to help yourself resolve the trauma. Then choose one way to help you begin your healing journey.
2. Use the feelings word list to help you identify specifically the feelings and emotions that you had during your experiences. Take time to look at both the positive and negative connotations of the words. You would be surprised at the strength and goodness you might find.
3. Write an angry letter. You won’t mail it or do anything with it other than tear it up, but it will release so much.
*Note: This might be my most favorite way to heal because it is so honest, so messy, and it gives you permission to just scribble down everything. My anger letters usually start out with big letters scribbled across the page and letter upon letter on top of itself until I can no longer read what I have written. Then I stop to pray and ask God to take it all. Then I tear it up and toss it into the trash and walk away. It is not necessarily pretty, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s the most quiet way that I know to get all my anger out and no one ever knows. Plus, it is incredibly healing.
Ya’ll have a beautiful day!
All My Love,
Jen
To learn more about Written Exposure Therapy click here.
Sources for this Article:
Van Der Kolk, B. (2019). The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin.
For more information about Get Strong with Jen! click here.
To view 30 Days of Prayer for PTSD - Day 11 click here.
