Writing for your mental health

The Pandemic brought much-needed attention to mental health. People are often concerned about their physical health that they usually take examinations at least once a year to make sure that there is no issue pertaining to their bodies and fail to care about their mental health. After the pandemic, a few things have changed us for good and one of them is the increasing awareness regarding mental health. During our recent Twitter chat on Writing for Mental Health, our community shared their thoughts regarding the same. Let’s find out what they had to say.

What kept us all going?

During those tough times, many people experienced stress, anxiety, a mild case of depression, and worse. In order to overcome these difficulties, people tried finding new hobbies which can help them relax, focus, and stay mindful of their health like exercising, painting, writing, lots of failed attempts at cooking, gardening, and many others as it was equally hard to maintain the right state of mind. Amongst all the chaos, we have all been reminded how important it is to be grateful for everything and everyone around us and also, learn to appreciate the little things in life every day. Here are a few interesting answers from people of our community.

In what way writing has been therapeutic?

Once in a while, we might want to vent out all our frustration to someone close to us. But some people might find it hard to express their feelings openly to another person. Through those tough times, writing can be of huge help. Doing so helps to organize thoughts and provide a new perspective letting us become more accepting of others. One of the best ways to embrace our deeper feelings is by writing them down which sometimes leads us to discover a whole new side of us that could be quite a shocker. This not only helps to stay positive but also provides peace of mind. Let’s quote a few people as they had good things to say.

  “A blank canvas ready to be inked with something new,” said Seethalakshmi. “Putting a word out to the universe is the first step towards moving on,” according to Varsha. “With so many rumors and panic around during the pandemic, as a doctor, I was motivated to write a lot about the mental and physical aspects of Covid infection,” added Dr Preeti.

Writing what matters

It is always important to remain honest with oneself while penning down the thoughts that are to be read by others. Different people have different interests when it comes to the content that they put down. Few people put themselves out there hoping to help others through their stories. But few others might not be comfortable doing so because of the judgmental eyes of the people they barely know of. Thus, there is no way to interpret for sure what is right and what is wrong. In the end, one should feel comfortable, and genuine and write what matters to them while keeping in mind that what goes out there might make a difference in someone else’s life. Quoting some interesting answers,

 “There’s always a reader for every story and I just make sure what I write is honest,” says Seethalakshmi. Harjeet says,  “I have never written for myself, actually. No journal or blog. But now I am penning down my feelings and affirmations on paper. This is helping me to heal and be positive.”

Taking the right path

The question of whether mental health still remains a taboo topic or not is a joint responsibility of everyone and not just the people who went through it. Just like how people always overcome the unknown in some way or the other, let us try to acknowledge and understand the hardships faced by those who suffer from any form of mental illness and offer them our hand so that they know they are not all alone in this fight. It always feels better to know that there is a supportive hand that catches us when we fall.

Let us strive to build a healthier community and make this world a happier place. You can skim through the entire Twitter chat here and you can also join us at CauseAChatter and have meaningful conversations around mental health.

If you want to share anything on a topic you care deeply for, send us your submission. Here are the guidelines.