29 April 2015

Can Writing Heal?


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Everyone has their own way to deal with stressful or emotional events. Many people believe that talking about difficult life experiences can ease the emotional pain of trauma. The latest studies I've heard about even indicate that expressing emotions may also speed up physical healing. It showed that writing can have a calming effect which can cut physical wound healing time nearly in half. 

Although I had no physical wounds that needed healing when I began to write, I have had my share of emotional pain. It wasn't easy to convince myself of the need to share the traumatic events connected with my last two furry children. You see, they were both diagnosed with canine epilepsy in the prime of their life, and this illness didn't just take its toll on them, but also on my husband and I. After we lost both of our dogs within four days of each other, I felt as if I was stuck at the bottom of a deep and dark pit. And what is there left to do, but to look up and figure out how to climb out!? I decided to use Lana and Darren's story to make others aware of canine epilepsy, and to bring hope to other pet parents with a dog(s) that suffer from this illness. And the message is: Epileptic dogs can lead a meaningful lives! 

These past two years the manuscript for Living with Canine Epilepsy went and still continues to go through relentless rounds of editing, revising and re-writing. I went through it, from beginning to end, and back, over and over again. I looked at structure, pacing, word usage, etc. and each edit honed it to the point of satisfaction. It is so easy to get lost in this story because it is my story after all. Research on the subject matter was intense. Although there are plenty of medical texts available, the variety of  material on canine epilepsy from an owner's point of view is rather limited.  


And while I diligently worked on my book I began to notice a change within me. I will probably always feel a certain sense of loss when I think about my two fur babies, but it no longer sends me back to the bottom of that deep, dark pit. I can finally treasure the beautiful memories of them, without feeling guilty. And all along I can give other pet owners a glimpse of hope, and share our experiences with them. I might remain skeptical about the effects about writing, but I do believe that working on this book has helped me learn to smile again.


Have you had a similar experience? Has your writing found its roots in a traumatic event? Tell us about your writing journey!




















Piper is the author of military lifestyle books and RV travel journals. When she isn't busy typing away on her computer, she can be found chasing after her furry children or holding on tightly to a good cup of coffee. Follow her on LinkedInFacebookGoodreads and Google+


8 comments:

  1. Hi Piper. Great article! Thank you for sharing. More people need to hear this. I would like to share a link to help encourage people to embrace personal writing as part of the healing process. My organization, Writing for Well-Being (www.writingforwellbeing.net), offers therapeutic writing classes focusing on journalling & poetry. I look forward to reading more of your material.
    Thanks,
    Jamie

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    1. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the article, Jamie!

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  2. Hi Piper, My recent author interview for "The Bounce!" on this topic "The book is an attempt at redemption, especially as writing has been very cathartic for me."
    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/author-interview-bounce-mohan-?trk=mp-author-card

    Let me know if you could review "The Bounce!"

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    1. Thank you for sharing your recent author interview!

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  3. I took a sabbatical year when I received some inheritance money and have been writing a book about my nine years at Child Protective Services. The writing gives me increasingly more insight into how I burned out and what was wrong within the system. I hadn't thought about the healing until I read your post. Writing is definitely dissolving the pain of working in a system that was not oriented towards supporting its workers in one of the hardest jobs in public service. I notice that I resonate to books and movies about trauma, fighting wars, and businesses which prioritize employee "joy". I'm grateful to you for giving a name to the pain that I was barely acknowledging.

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    1. You're welcome, Helen and thank you for all your hard work!

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  4. Yes, I think I am on the verge of three books now. I haven't found a way to get to the next step. I am afraid to edit (I want someone else to do that.) I think writing pulls a person away from the situation and gives them a different perspective.

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  5. When I worked at Johnson Space Center I went through a series of crises that knocked me off my feet emotionally. A year or so later, I started writing my Bible study, Storms of Life. It took me a couple years to get it done and then another year of editing and rewriting before it was published. God used it to heal many of my emotional wounds.

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