Using Writing To Help With the Grieving Process: Frieda L. Ferrick, MFT, Santa Rosa Grief and Loss Counselor

When you are in the middle of big loss and the world seems cold and lonely, writing can help you get through some tough hours.  Journaling can help you feel that there is somewhere you can write all the words that are bottled  up inside of you.  Write and keep on writing.  Don’t worry if what you are writing makes any sense, just sit down and put pen to paper, or fingers on the keyboard and go for it. If you do this it can help you to put some thoughts and feelings out there about your grief.

Grief is hard work.  You never know when the wave of sadness will hit you.  You can feel so lonely as you try to make sense of what happened to that special person in your life who is longer there.  Whether it be death or a break up, you can feel terrible.  After awhile good friends and family members will go back to their lives, and they are not as available to be your sounding board.  Using a journal can be another way of expressing yourself and feeling safe when the rest of your life may feel out of control.

Grief needs some way of being expressed.  When you write about what you are feeling, it helps because you are paying attention to what is happening inside of you.  It lets all of those emotions come to the surface, and it helps you deal with the rampage of feelings that start to come out.

A journal does not need to be a fancy book.  It can be a notebook that you got at the local drugstore or it can be a journal that you buy at a book store, whatever catches your imagination, that is the one you should go for.  You can take the amount of time that feels right to you writing every day, every other day or once a week.

I wish you the best as you start this new part of your life.  Your journal can become part of your expressive life.  It can help you in ways that will become more clear as time moves on.

Happy Journaling!