Writing about your mental health journey can be intimidating — here are some things to make it easier

5 TIPS FOR OPENING UP AND FINDING YOUR VOICE

It’s pretty scary to keep all of your thoughts inside. That’s why writing and sharing your story can be an incredibly healing process. It’s like a weight is being lifted from your shoulders. But writing might not be a skill you’re confident with right now.

Janet Reynolds created the Write On! program to help people use writing as a way to better understand themselves and the world around them. If you’re considering putting your mental health journey into words, here are Janet’s five tips to get you started.

1. Remember you’re already a writer

For some reason, we have this completely weird idea that you have to be a writer in order to write. Remember that you’re a writer already. It’s just a question of how much you write or the ways that you write.

2. Ease into it

When you want to run a marathon, you don’t just put on your sneakers and run 26 miles and expect that to go well. You have to ease your way into it. You practice. I’m a big fan of three-minute writing prompts. I always say that you can do anything for three minutes, right? It’s a doable and realistic commitment.

People often come into Write On! and say, ‘I’m going to write an hour a day, six days a week.’ What happens is you do that for maybe a day or two, and then when you stop you think you’re a failure. So I ask for a commitment from people, but I often say three minutes, three days a week. I always say, ‘I guarantee you're going to beat that.’ And when you beat it, you feel good. So I try to really focus on very bite-size ways of getting people to share.

3. Just get it out

The act of getting it down is really the most beneficial part. The Flannery O’Connor quote that I always reference is, “I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” And I think that is certainly true for me. You may not do anything with that story ever, but you wrote it down for yourself. And if you decide that you want to do more with it, that’s great! If you decide you want to work it into an essay, if you decide you want to work it into a book, if you decide you want to turn it into a letter and send it to somebody — all of those things can happen. But the thing that’s already made a difference is you wrote it down.

4. It’s a judgment-free zone

When you’re writing, it’s a judgment-free zone. Write for three straight minutes and don’t stop moving your hand or typing. Don’t sit there and think, ‘Oh, that’s not a good sentence. Wait, that’s not the right word. Oh, wait, did I spell that correctly?’ Just let it go. And just go as far and as deep and as awful as you want to, because when you’re finished writing, you can burn it or you can rip it into a million pieces.

5. Take charge of your narrative

We’ve all been told stories about ourselves from other people and we’ve believed them. Maybe they’re not true and maybe it’s time to rewrite them. Maybe they are true, but maybe you can write a new ending. The story of who you were when you were 12, isn’t the story of who you are now. When you write it out, you get to take control of your narrative and your story.

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Are you ready to share your story? We’re now collecting submissions for the IDONTMIND Journal! When you open up about your mental health, you make it easier for others to do the same. Find more information on how to submit your personal story here.