Release the energy caused by pent-up emotions. Write.

Writing is therapeutic, and whether we're facing challenges or not, writing has a way of tapping into emotions we never knew we felt. It happens almost by accident. For example, you might sit down to write a "Dear John/Jane" letter, a love letter, or a letter of complaint and emotions escalate. As you write, more emotions rise to the surface. Rather than suppressing your feelings you should continue the writing and release the energy caused by pent up emotions. As psychologists say, sooner or later, emotions will be expressed, appropriately or inappropriately. Writing is always appropriate because it's private.

Emotions will find a way to be revealed, and as Terrence Real, MSW, explains in his book,  I Don't Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression, emotions will be expressed either through "acting out" or "acting in." "Acting out" is behavior that can be observed by ourselves and others whereas "acting in" is behavior that remains invisible but can have devastating effects. Men are especially known for acting out, but women do it too. Instead of acting out or self-medicating, a good place to start is with a pen and notepad in your hand (a computer is less private).

I consider myself a writer among other things, but I don't know if I write because I have much to express or if I have so much to express that I write, but writing allows me to reflect, revisit a situation, and analyze it from a different perspective. If I've said too much, no one knows but me, so I can write to my heart's content. Once pent up emotions are expressed, they simply go away!

(to be continued)...