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Can creative writing be used as a therapy?
Writing as a form of therapy to improve physical or mental health has a long history1 and is widely reported in psychology textbooks as being of therapeutic value. Expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; and bring us greater focus and clarity. These effects of writing as a tool for healing are well documented. A study by APA showed that writing can help to relieve stress by combatting negative and intrusive thoughts. The study explains that writing about negative experiences can help you to overcome them and that, by putting your experience into perspective, you are able to concentrate on the positive as a result. While a journal cannot replace a therapist, it can be therapeutic. What a journal can do is help you to notice patterns in your behaviour and emotional responses. It’s an opportunity to reflect on your experiences, feelings, thoughts and behaviour.
How far does creative writing act as a therapy?
185), but they are qualitatively different. Writing a story for therapeutic purposes is first and foremost done to gain more insight in one’s own feelings. It is only by reworking these first drafts, that communication with the writer within can be achieved. Ans : The most important therapeutic quality of writing is that it helps the writer observe his or her thoughts and feelings. Therapeutic journaling is the process of writing down our thoughts and feelings about our personal experiences. This kind of private reflection allows us to sort through events that have occurred and problems that we may be struggling with. Creative Writing Provides An Emotional Outlet Language is their canvas and words their tools of the trade. Writers can craft and create new concepts and explore uncharted territories of the mind, heart, and spirit and master an almost unlimited range of narratives for novels, short stories, and poetry. Creative writing can be used for entertainment, informative, or persuasive purposes. The Six Traits of writing are Voice, Ideas, Presentation, Conventions, Organization, Word Choice, and Sentence Fluency.
Why is creative writing therapeutic?
Whatever format is chosen, writing therapy can help the user to propel their personal growth, practice creative expression, and feel a sense of empowerment and control over the user’s life (Center for Journal Therapy, n.d.). Journaling happens to be one of the most therapist/counselor recommended, simplest and effective coping mechanisms for managing mental illness. Expressive writing can bring a range of mental, emotional, and physical health benefits. If you engage with creative writing when you’re dealing with difficult emotions, it can help you explore why you’re feeling what you’re feeling, allowing a direct insight to your mindset. Practicing creative writing helps strengthen and stimulate your brain which prevents cognitive impairment and improves recall and retention. Improve Your Mood—By writing down your emotions such as anger, pain, or grief, you’re able to better process them, helping you achieve a sense of peace and calm in your mind. Journaling might just be the thing to help you rewire your brain, whether it’s a shift in attitude you seek or you’re trying to reach other life goals. Research even points to health benefits that can result from keeping a journal, such as increased immunity and reduced stress.
Is creative writing good for mental health?
In a world which leaves little time for reflection and creativity, writing has many benefits. It can allow you to organise your thoughts, process emotions, boost your imagination, and improve your conversation skills. Over time this can contribute to your development, not only as a writer but as a person. There are four purposes writers use for writing. When someone communicates ideas in writing, they usually do so to express themselves, inform their reader, to persuade a reader or to create a literary work. The value of creativity However, creative writing can be a valuable component of academic teaching, aiding critical thinking across disciplines. In a wider societal sense, empathy with individuals or situations will better prepare students for the real world. Creative writing is a form of writing that encompasses a number of different genres and styles outside the more formal scope of technical writing or academic writing. Creative writing focuses on elements such as character development, narrative, and plot, infusing its structure with imagination and story. Characters. Character development is the most crucial element of creative writing! It is the element that explains your narrative to the readers and investigates your subject. Yet, characters are more than that. With the Golden Rule of Writing, you are free to convey whatever idea, thought or image you want. You are free to tell whatever story, write whatever essay, or compose any poem you want. But write it with intention.
Why creative writing have medical and therapeutic benefits?
Creative writing encourages people to choose their words, metaphors and images in a way that really captures what they’re trying to convey. This creative decision-making can lead to increased self-awareness and self-esteem as well as improved mental health. Creative writing often uses many literary devices such as figurative language and imagery to help convey a message in an entertaining way by reaching the audience on a deeper level. Creative writing is process-focused and aims to fully develop and communicate an idea to your audience in an original way. Creative writing, a form of artistic expression, draws on the imagination to convey meaning through the use of imagery, narrative, and drama. This is in contrast to analytic or pragmatic forms of writing. This genre includes poetry, fiction (novels, short stories), scripts, screenplays, and creative non-fiction. Research suggests writing about trauma can be beneficial because it helps people re-evaluate their experiences by looking at them from different perspectives. Studies suggest writing about traumatic events can help ease the emotional pressure of negative experiences. The most popular are to inform, to entertain, to explain, or to persuade. However, there are many more including to express feelings, explore an idea, evaluate, mediate, problem solve, or argue for or against an idea. Writers often combine purposes in a single piece of writing. Journaling also helps people hone their focus so that they think about only one thing at a time. When you write your thoughts by hand, you can only write one word at a time. Your thoughts slow down to match your writing speed and you’ll find that it’s easier to slip out of your overthinking mindset.
Why Creative Writing have medical and therapeutic benefits?
Creative writing encourages people to choose their words, metaphors and images in a way that really captures what they’re trying to convey. This creative decision-making can lead to increased self-awareness and self-esteem as well as improved mental health. Writing allows individuals to observe, monitor, and evaluate how they express and control their emotions. The sense of control over emotions that is a direct result of writing helps the writer improve their well-being and reduces negative emotions. Another way that students can relax is through creative writing. Writing poetry, non-fiction and short stories is a great way to stimulate one’s imagination. Research featured in Harvard Medical School’s “Harvard Health Publishing” suggests that there is a connection between creative writing and stress relief. Daily writing makes you smarter (especially when you write by hand). Writing makes you think. Some studies even show that writing by hand increases cognitive activity and can actually make you more intelligent—as long as you put the keyboard aside and write by hand. This research reveals that all “good” writing has six key ingredients—ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions.
What is Creative Arts in therapy?
Creative arts therapies–sometimes also called expressive therapies–use media like dance, drama, music, poetry and visual arts to help clients express themselves. Creative therapy uses art forms — such as dance, drawing, or music — to help treat certain conditions. Trained therapists can administer creative therapy to help people experiencing a range of mental, emotional, and physical issues. Creative therapy does not require a person to have any sort of artistic ability. Creative ventures help to fight anxiety because they activate the parts of your brain that process emotions. Music and art, for example, help to calm brain activity and allow the individual to feel a sense of emotional harmony. Writing therapy, also known as journal therapy, is exactly what it sounds like: writing (often in a journal) for therapeutic benefits. Writing therapy is a low-cost, easily accessible, and versatile form of therapy. It can be done individually, with just a person and a pen, or guided by a mental health professional. Expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; and bring us greater focus and clarity. These effects of writing as a tool for healing are well documented. Creative writing often uses many literary devices such as figurative language and imagery to help convey a message in an entertaining way by reaching the audience on a deeper level. Creative writing is process-focused and aims to fully develop and communicate an idea to your audience in an original way.