by Hannah Joslin

 

First off, let me just say this: You can’t really be “saved” from anxiety.

You can get better at dealing with it, you can have good days and bad, you can work on managing the unreasonable thoughts that creep into your head. But only you can truly help yourself when it comes to anxiety. That said, writing, for me, has been a savior in its own way when it comes to relieving emotions like anxiety.

If you’re like me, panic comes not from events that unfold, but from the way you choose to think about those events afterward. And we can be really good at overthinking things.

Sometimes, you can be completely emotionless or indifferent when experiencing something, and it won’t be until later, when you’re trying to sleep or be productive, that it decides to release some unfair, evil goblin screaming through your head and causing everything to run amuck. Minutes, days, months later; it doesn’t really matter. It happens. That’s the “beauty” of the human mind.

Hopefully, you’ve found a way to manage such times. For me, my management is writing. As silly as it sounds, writing has a way of completely releasing emotions, whether that’s furiously typing your thoughts out on a note in your phone, or scribbling into a school notebook. Something about putting things into written word helps you organize your thoughts and slowly form the words that will capture your emotions. Reading what you’ve just written can help tremendously as well, it can show you just how silly you were being. There are even many articles and publications from psychology experts acknowledging the written word as a form of therapy, asserting that writing “eases feelings of emotional trauma.”

 

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Think about it this way. If you’re playing a scene over and over again in your head like a torturous loop (thanks, little goblin guy), your thoughts regarding the scene can’t be on a straight path either. Take some time to straighten out your thoughts, write down anything that captures how you feel, and then throw the paper away. Your head is one big mess of scribbles until you channel it all into writing, and suddenly, it will all start to make sense.

There are many ways to deal with things like anxiety, depression, panic, and overthinking. Next time, try writing. Write anything. Find a healthy way to organize your thoughts, scribble it and release the emotion, and move forward.

We’re all going to have days that are worse than others. What matters is how you choose to turn it around.

Get writing.

 

 

 

 

 

Guest post contributed by Hannah Joslin at the Blooming Twig. The Blooming Twig is an independent, boutique publishing house that supports the adventurous tastes of its readership.