Words of inspiration from Dawlish-based psychotherapist and life coach Jody Merelle.
More and more these days I am meeting with people who are keen to find practical ways to positively affect their sense of wellbeing.
Conversations about the importance of looking after our mental health have increased over the last few years and this is, of course, a good thing. There is not nearly so much stigma around this issue as there once was.
However, as a society we remain more reactive than proactive. In my view the more we can do to enhance our sense of wellbeing when we are still well, the better that would be for all of us.
One of the simplest tools that has been shown to have a positive effect on our emotional wellbeing is to write. Exactly what or how you write is up to you, but there are many benefits to the act of writing in general.
Some will find it helpful to write lists, you might like to keep a diary or a journal or even pen the odd story or poem.
Writing can be a good tool for exploring your own thoughts and feelings and you can also write letters or postcards to someone else. There is still no absolute theory on why writing is helpful, but many suggestions have been made.
Firstly, when you are troubled by or anxious about something, everything can feel a bit like having spaghetti in your head.
A recent client of mine described it well when she said like she felt that all her thoughts were ‘tangled’. Writing things down can help provide a sense of clarity. It can also be enormously helpful in increasing your sense of self-understanding, which in itself has been shown to be a contributor to finding a positive sense of wellbeing.
Taking your inner thoughts and externalising them is also a way to better access our hopes goals and dreams. Research has consistently shown that writing things down make them much more likely to happen.
Another study found that writing a list of goals at the end of the day for the coming day or week could contribute towards a better night’s sleep.
This is probably because our subconscious is better able to relax when it receives the message that it doesn’t need to keep thinking about all it has to sort out in the days ahead. Writing can also be cathartic in getting your feelings out. Putting them on paper can be enormously helpful in gaining a sense of perspective, sorting out your priorities and prompting the mind to think of how to move forward.
Because it requires focus, writing can also contribute towards staying mindful and staying in the present moment. The very act of writing itself can be hugely helpful in allowing us to feel less confused and to slow down.
Certain writing exercises have also be shown to have positive effects on our mental health.
In one exercise, people are invited to write down all the positive emotions they have experienced in the last 48 hours.
Our memories inevitably fade over time and we don’t always consciously choose the (often negative) spin that our minds put on past events.
This exercise can be a good reminder that we do frequently experience a wide range of positive emotions. Recognising this, and remembering what the activities are that cause these positive emotions in us, can be a great way of reminding ourselves to do these things more often.
In a world which is now dominated by emails, social media and text messages, writing a physical card or letter these days is also a real sign of kindness and empathy to someone else.
It is something that can be picked up and read time and time again and it will remain when a text message has long gone.
A card received from our neighbour this week when our dog had to sadly be put down meant a huge amount to us and left us feeling cared about in an otherwise very sad week.
Having sorted through several boxes of my late parents’ possessions recently, their letters and cards have given me a window into much of their history in a way in which a random text message would never have done.
There is no right or wrong way to write. Write in a way that feels natural and comfortable to you. You can write about what you like and when you feel like it – but if writing is not something that you often do I highly recommend trying it. You might find a whole new way in which to express yourself, find some clarity and positively affect your sense of wellbeing.