Writing about your trauma. Traumatic experiences are stored in our body rather than in our memory. Telling our stories helps to integrate the feelings into memories and put them in past tense, so we don’t have to relive them.
Writing to stay in the moment. Observing what happens around you – sounds, sights, smells, tastes, touch, and other sensations – brings you into the present and helps you connect instead of dissociate.
Writing to be present in your body. Cultivate awareness of your body through scanning and noticing sensations and thoughts.
Writing to find out your thoughts. Let the writing flow and see what arises spontaneously in the freedom of thought.
Writing to explore, research, or focus. Choose an idea, a person, a place, or anything else and write about it. Go deeper than the surface and find out your thoughts and feelings.
Writing to take a moment with yourself. Let your nervous system relax. It’s close to doing nothing without the urge or pressure to do something.
Writing to process other people’s stories. We can experience vicarious trauma from witnessing other people, especially if we work as a health care provider or other caregiver. Intergenerational trauma can pass through family stories, DNA, and epigenetics.
Writing to communicate your feelings to someone. Write to balance or explore a relationship, whether or not you deliver the letter to someone.
