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Writing As A Form Of Therapy

SilenusSenior Contributor12 Apr 2016, 3:14 pm AEST

Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Hi all,

I have found throughout the course of my life that writing has been a constant companion to me. It has provided me with a way to vent my frustrations, to grapple with the eternal verities of life that confound and delight me, to explore ideas and concepts, and to try to put into words the often chaotic moods and thoughts that result from having a mind that's a little bit odd...

I have written lots of poems, especially in the last 3 or 4 years, dealing with depression and bipolar. They help me to process and understand some of the things that are happening in this twisted little noodle of mine. As such, writing has become one of my main forms of therapy.

One of the best things that I find about writing is that it can act as a kind of mood diary. I can read things that I had previously written, and it will quite often map out where I was at during the time of writing. The words I spread across the page act as signposts of my progress, too. As my self knowledge increases and my life journey progresses, I find that it affects how I write and what I write...

Often, we do not see the thousands of tiny little changes to our selves that our life experiences cause over the years. It can be very helpful to re-read old writings, in order to see how far we have come, what we have improved, where we have fallen back into old harmful habits, and the things that we have learned.

The language that we use in our writings and in our thoughts and in our speech is very important. It can reveal a lot about our selves, our states of mind, and our moods...

That language, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I believe that we attract certain kinds of people around us, and create (or at least influence) life situations based on our choice of language. It helps define who we are as a person.

Negative thinking, self-deprecation, self-hatred, these sorts of dangerous life traps are often revealed in our choice of words. So too are the positive things. It all starts with a glass. How we describe the glass and the quantity and quality of its contents, that's where language comes into it, and it can shape our very lives and the lives of those around us.

Writing... it is my solace and my main tool of self-analysis. It is my favourite form of therapy...

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In response to: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Unknown userMember22 June 2021, 3:50 pm AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Love the...I'm done with survival, my heart wants to thrive. So positive and uplifting after....but deep in my soul, is the child who still bleeds.
This really speaks to me @bipolarbunny ❤️

In response to: Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

bipolarbunnySenior Contributor22 June 2021, 5:49 pm AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

@Former-Member Thank you my friend, I'm glad you can find a connection with my words. Hope you are having a nice evening. xx

BB 🐰💙

In response to: Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

bipolarbunnySenior Contributor30 June 2021, 4:13 pm AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Hey everyone,

@greenpea @Shaz51 @StuF @Mazarita @Appleblossom @Judi9877 @rivergal @frog @Always-hope @HenryX @Meowmy @Anastasia @Daisydreamer @EOR @TAB @Fizz @TideisTurning @BlueBay @Meggle @The-Hams @LostAngel @SJT63 and anyone else passing by...

Back after a bit of a break. Found a tongue in cheek silly manic brain poem I wrote earlier this year. I wonder if it resonates with anyone. xx

BB 🐰💙

The Dance

A sweltering night,

And I cannot write,

I’m sweaty and bothered and blue,

My thoughts gone awry,

I’m thirsty and dry,

I feel like I’m broken in two.

Not happy or sad,

Not mellow or mad,

My mind wanders lost in a fog,

There’s silence but wait,

A noise hits the gate,

No doubt it’s the neighbourhood dog.

I’m trying to think,

But words never sink,

When trying too hard to be smart,

I itch and I scratch,

And stumble to catch,

My prose, when it’s falling apart.

Just one or two sips,

To loosen the lips,

Dear God, how I wish I could drink,

But how would that be,

If I set myself free,

I may end up locked in the clink.

Some humour you see,

Is all there can be,

When troubles are spread in your hand,

I’m flat out of time,

My meds in decline,

My eyes feeling heavy with sand.

And so I must go,

With thoughts cranking slow,

And nightmares awaiting my stance,

It’s funny you see,

I never can flee,

But I’m glad, I’m not missing the dance.

In response to: Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

bipolarbunnySenior Contributor30 June 2021, 4:32 pm AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Hey,

Here's another "odd" poem. I was thinking of Ned Flanders of all things when I wrote this. Sometimes I get a line in my head and the rest just develops from there. Oh the cray-diddly-cray of a bipolar mind. Lol xx

BB 🐰💙

The Cray-Diddly-Cray

You dare not to wonder,

How normal must feel,

A life that brings thunder,

Is simply surreal,

An ache in your quake,

Keeps the boring at bay,

You cannot surrender,

The cray-diddly-cray.

You wallow in pity,

Thy troublesome muse,

Will often get shitty,

With cognitive blues,

Some ice in your slice,

Keeps you chill from the fray,

You cannot surrender,

The cray-diddly-cray.

You fathom a future,

Where time is a blast,

No need for a suture,

To stitch up the past,

A pill for your ill,

Keeps the voices at play,

You cannot surrender,

The cray-diddly-cray.

You bathe in the madness,

Where everything hurts,

Engulfed by the sadness,

Your weary heart blurts,

Put pain will refrain,

Long enough for your say,

You cannot surrender,

The cray-diddly-cray.

You dabble in danger,

That runs you adrift,

A tryst with a stranger,

More ashes to sift,

Your heart from the start,

Was set up for dismay,

You cannot surrender,

The cray-diddly-cray.

You challenge perspective,

When things go awry,

Your inner detective,

Can spot a good lie,

A truth from the sleuth,

Can improve your whole day,

You cannot surrender,

The cray-diddly-cray.

You try to be clever,

With words that you drill,

You think now or never,

For fortunes to spill,

But sold is not gold,

For a published belay,

You cannot surrender,

The cray-diddly-cray.

You dare not to wonder,

How normal must feel,

A life full of thunder,

A soul made of steel,

Some walk in my talk,

And I’m worthy today,

I cannot surrender,

My cray-diddly-cray.

In response to: Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

bipolarbunnySenior Contributor04 July 2021, 10:00 pm AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

@Bunniekins @Shaz51 @Mazarita @StuF @HenryX @Anastasia @Dimity @Former-Member @Appleblossom @frog @TAB@Judi9877 @Oaktree @ShiningStar @Adge @Meowmy @LostAngel @Zoe7 @Daisydreamer @Former-Member @TideisTurning @MDT @eth @Former-Member @Eve7 @Faith-and-Hope @oceangirl @rivergal

Hello everyone, quick post tonight, verse I penned over yesterday & today. Winter is still beating me up, so I guess this is where my head is at. Hope everyone is travelling okay. xx

BB 🐰💙

Get Up And Go

My get up and go,

Just got up and went,

The magic was tragic,

I’m utterly spent,

Thrown to the hounds,

With egregious lament,

A chalice of malice,

By bitter dissent.

My go with the flow,

Just ran down the sink,

The ooze became snooze,

When I hastened to think,

As day turns to night,

And my soul hits the brink,

I’m cursed by the worst,

And there’s nothing to drink.

My need for some speed,

Just cracked through a wall,

The thrill for a spill,

Didn’t lessen my fall,

My mind clearly empty,

With room for us all,

To rage a new page,

In this petulant squall.

My fend for myself,

Left me lonely and jarred,

The smile on my dial,

Duly broken and scarred,

By lies and deceit,

From a desolate shard,

That crashes in ashes,

When life becomes hard.

My down in the dumps,

Got me frightfully shook,

My lumps became bumps,

As I snapped a quick look,

Of life in the trenches,

With no magic book,

The rules beget fools,

And I’m left on the hook.

My mad as a hatter,

Is on its descent,

I’d grieve for reprieve,

But I’m utterly spent,

Reality twisting,

My mind ever bent,

I’d get up and go,

But I already went.

In response to: Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Unknown userMember04 July 2021, 10:25 pm AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Good One! BB💙

In response to: Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

BunniekinsSenior Contributor05 July 2021, 12:43 am AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

@bipolarbunny So true BBxx

In response to: Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Faith-and-HopeSenior Contributor05 July 2021, 12:58 am AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

So well written @bipolarbunny ..... 💞🌷

In response to: Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Shaz51Senior Contributor05 July 2021, 7:31 am AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

Soo true and we'll written @bipolarbunny ❤

In response to: Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

AppleblossomSenior Contributor05 July 2021, 1:01 pm AEST

Re: Writing As A Form Of Therapy

@bipolarbunny

Love it.

That dense rhyme scheme seems to bring humour ... when the magic goes tragic.

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