Can writing help anxiety? Right now, it would be an understatement to say that we are currently going through a period of uncertainty. It is at this point unclear when restrictions to movement will be lifted, or softened, and as a result businesses are forced to either close or adapt to a new way of working in order to maintain some kind of revenue.
Anxiety is a normal response to an abnormal situation
Anxiety is a normal, human response to insecurity and uncertainty with no parameters to work with. Many of us will be experiencing acute anxiety and a sense of helplessness, as we have no control over the situation. We are not even able to take advice or assurance from those in positions of authority, as this particular virus is something we are all learning the devastating consequences of in real time, with no indication of when it is likely to end.
When faced with this lack of control, anxiety can block our ability to think clearly, and therefore our ability to express how we feel, to process and come to terms with our situation and begin to move through the stages of emotion to acceptance. Additionally, we may feel as though we must keep our feelings to ourselves as to not affect our friends and family, who may also be going through similar feelings.
It is therefore necessary to find an outlet for anxiety, and not everyone will find the same therapeutic release from exercise or cooking. Writing, however, can be an excellent way to express sadness, hopelessness, frustration, rage and any other emotion that isolation evokes. While things like exercise, drawing and cooking may keep the anxiety at bay, writing invites the person to connect with and embrace their feelings. Transferring words from your head onto paper will create an opportunity to consider what those words and feelings really mean, and what they mean to you; processing your feelings and ultimately dissolving them onto the page.
How can writing help me?
Writing is especially helpful for those situations, like COVID-19, that do not have solutions, and are unlikely to have solutions for many months to come. Writing will not solve your problems, but it will be an evaluative exercise in organising your thoughts into something coherent for either you, or an audience to understand how you are navigating through this crisis. By documenting events and feelings over the course of this pandemic, you can identify highs and lows, what encouraged the highs and what precipitated the lows, an invaluable exercising in learning more about yourself, and your business.
Furthermore, there is evidence to prove that simply writing lists can help relax an overworked mind; in the process of publishing online journals you are killing two birds with one stone; your audience will also be kept in the loop as to what they can expect from your business. It can be a great source of inspiration for others who may not know where to turn. But most importantly, it is a way for you to channel your fears, build confidence in yourself by continually setting out your goals and aspirations, and continually re-shape your perspective of the ever-changing situation.
If you are finding that your inner dialogue and emotions is in the form of confused chaos, try putting your feelings into these categories;
- Things that I can’t do anything about
- Things that I need to do now
- Good ideas that I will come to later
- Realisations, understandings and achievements
- Lessons learnt and things to think more about
Writing for others
Although it might been like a painfully candid way of connecting with an audience, writing an online journal for clients or customers to read can be an incredibly rare and powerful way to connect with your audience; building an intimate level of trust and understanding that can ensure strengthened relationships and long lasting loyalty. This can be done using Facebook statuses, or using applications like WordPress; there are countless platforms to utilise either free or low cost. For more tips on how to connect with others through writing by reading a number of our other blogs here.
Writing for yourself
It might be too big a step to share the devastating consequences of COVID-19 onto potential and existing customers; in which case a journal can be just for you, to manage the natural and expected anxiety as you are forced to re-evaluate your livelihood. Anxiety is not something to be under-estimated; it can be all consuming and severely debilitate you while you are totally consumed with fear of the unknown, so it is invaluable to express your feelings into something you can completely trust and rely on.
Words are powerful; it can encapsulate exactly how you are feeling, but also act as a pre-cursor to how you want to feel. Writing positive affirmations to yourself may feel unusual at first, but trust the power of the impact of words; transfer hope, positivity and inspiration to the page, and you will feel it.
What is there to lose?
It is true that we are often our own worst enemies and our own biggest inspiration; channelling our anxiety through writing can harness our feelings and illuminate our thought processes, understanding why and how we have come to feel the way we are feeling to help build our resilience; we might have felt similar ways in the past and remember how we improved the situation, or help remember what to avoid to worsen the situation; i.e. blaming, shutting down or exploding. There is no better way to connect with an audience, or ourselves, more than by expressing our thoughts and feelings, no matter how irrational or emotional it may be.
There is no right way to think or feel in an unprecedented situation no one has ever experienced in our lifetime. By describing how and why we have made the decisions we have, and outputting hope and positivity for people to relate to, understand us and trust us we can alleviate our anxieties, and our audience by letting our anxieties flow from our minds, through our hands, onto paper.
