How Writing Heals Trauma

The blank page is such a simple thing, but it has helped me heal in profound and surprising ways.

Photo by Amanda George from Pexels

I’ve always been drawn to writing about the things that hurt me, but I had never before sat down and contemplated why exactly that is. What I’ve found is that writing allows you to express yourself in a place entirely in your control and completely free from repercussions. It also allows you to store that expression for safekeeping and ready access, which can be uniquely reassuring. Moreover, writing allows you to gain an understanding of the pain and its origins, and to even turn that pain into something beautiful.

Containment

A person’s trauma is, in a way, valuable to them. It holds an ineffable significance. It’s at one time something they wish they could escape, but at the same time, it’s so personal, so informs who they are, that they cling to it. Frankly, I’m just as terrified to forget the things that have happened to me as I am to remember them. I need to remember what happened, and how it changed me, to distinguish the scar tissue from what’s native to me. In many ways, a central part of my existence is to serve as a reservoir for painful memories.

My writing gives me a place to put them. I can unburden my soul by pouring them onto a page. I know…