Writing for Mental Health

During an intense, frightening, or dangerous experience, the brain shuts off higher-level thinking in favor of low-level survival protocols. After the event is past, there is an opportunity to reprocess what happened with the brain fully engaged.

Writing is an excellent way to do this reprocessing. Writing engages the prefrontal cortex and helps us add structure to difficult memories. This can move a memory from the survival category to the “something that is no longer a threat” category. When memories stay in the survival category, they trigger emotional flashbacks, also known as trauma responses. These are the intense feelings we get that have more to do with the past than the present.

1. Write a narrative (in the style of a movie script) of a conversation that was emotionally challenging.

2. Write a narrative of a difficult, unpleasant, or frightening memory.

3. Write a narrative of how you would confront a difficult person in your life.

4. Write about how you felt during a difficult event in your past, and how you feel about it now. Include emotions and physical sensations attached to those emotions.

5. Write a dialogue of how you would confront one of your parents about how they treated you as a child, or how they treat you as an adult. When you process these imaginary conversations with your adult brain, it helps you grow out of childhood attachment patterns that make it hard for you to see your parents clearly.

Further reading: David Schnarch’s book *Brain Talk* explores the process of growing out of childhood attachment patterns.