Writing therapy can be most effective when it is done under the direction of a therapist, but it is a good practice for anyone recovering from substance abuse. You don’t need to worry about grammar or spelling with engaging in this activity, and it is not about judging your abilities as a writer. Here are just some of the ways writing therapy can help you stay free of drug addiction.
Writing is an Opportunity to Vent
If you are getting stressed about a situation, writing can be a great way to let of some steam. You may be almost shaking with anger when you first grab your pen, but you are likely to feel much better by the time you finish writing. Just put down all your thoughts about the situation on paper without any attempts to edit, and it can be like releasing the valve on a pressure cooker.
Writing Can Lead to Insights
Writing things done can easily lead to insights because it means you get to see things in a new way. If you have a problem, just start putting some of your thoughts down on paper – for example, if you have to make an important choice, you can make a list of pros and cons of each direction you can take. Keeping a daily diary can also mean you stumble upon insights into your life that you would otherwise have missed.
Writing Clarifies your Thoughts
If you are going through a bad patch, it can feel as if your head is your head is about to explode because your thoughts are likely to be racing. Writing things down is an effective way to clarify issues and make sense of what is happening. Problems are always going to feel far more intimidating when they are just bouncing around in your head – writing down your thoughts makes these problems more manageable.
It is an Effective Way to Chart Your Recovery from Drug Addiction
Once you get beyond the first few months of recovery from drug addiction, the pace of improvements due to sobriety is likely to slow down. You may not even notice how much your life is getting better – this is dangerous because this lack of appreciation may mean you might decide that staying sober isn’t worth the effort. By charting your progress in a recovery journal, you can easily compare how things are changing for you over time.
