For many years I suffered from the physical pain of the headaches...and the devasting migraine variety!  At the young age of 25, and after about three years of suffering...I started alternative healing in chiropractic...and by keeping a journal, because my memory was not very good at the time, even though I was only 25 years of age. 

With an accident to my neck and upper spine, it took me many years to recover and to get some sense of normalcy in my life, etc.  One of the ingredients, which helped me more than I can measure...was to keep a journal during that awful time in my life!  About 8 years and over 100 visits to a chiropractor...and along with keeping a journal...it took time and patience...something that many Americans don't have in 2010! 

If it had not been for keeping a journal during that awful time in my life, I might not be here in the year 2010!  By keeping a journal, it allowed me to go back in time, and see how I was coming along with my treatment...it gave me hope that I would be better one day! 

Every time, I would get a migraine headache, that would knock me off my feet for about 12 hours...I would get mad as a dog...and that didn't help, either.  But, after I started keeping a journal, I would go back in time, and see the details of the last attack, etc.  It gave me more comfort, to see that I was improving.  From the journal, I could learn that the attacks were becoming less frequent; less severe; and what I did at the time to combat it. 

From the journal...gave me hope...sure thay were little steps at a time...but hope non-the-less, etc.  I knew from the journal, that I was improving...little baby steps at a time.  This all gave me the confidence and self-esteem, which had been shattered...to continue...I knew I could get better!

That's why psychologists make so much money...to be good listeners.  Talking to someone helps the person to shed those tears and is therapy to recover and find much needed relief.  Most of us can't afford the services of a psychologist, but writing does, essentially, the same thing, but is less costly, etc.  The other ingredient a person must have is patience...it will take time to heal and recover! 

You can call it a journal or a diary...whatever you want...but it's a collection of your thoughts; feelings; and what worked for you on a certain day and what you did on that day to get things accomplished, etc.  As I said earlier, most people don't have good memories, and keeping a journal was crucial in my recovery. 

I've been writing seriously since August, 2006, and during that time, I have written near 200 articles and a book is on the way.  Early on, I realized that there were certain articles in the newspaper or magazine, that I could not paraphrase, because the information was technical in nature, or I just didn't have the expertise, etc. 

So. at the time, I decided to just quot from the article, if it is important enough and serves a purpose in helping people with their particular issue, whether it be medical; losing weight; quitting smoking; air pollution; chemical dumping, etc.  I've done this with about 15 of my 200 articles, and that's what I'll do here again.  Finding ways to relieve pain is essential to all of us, and the following article was written by Barbara Mahaney, of the Chicago Tribune, and the piece was published in the Albuquerque Journal on October 18, 2010.  The piece is entitled;

"Saying Goodbye" 

The sub-title reads:  "Writing helps many in grieving process." 

The article is as follows: 

"CHICAGO:  'Only one month ago today, we gathered for another celebration...your 48th birthday...the boys ate chocolate cake.  I played happy birthday on my harmonica, and again you smiled through your suffering.  You've been gone almost four weeks now...I face each day yearning for you and loving you more than ever.'

In the blur of days after his wife of nearly 11 years died, an old friend mailed Ralph Moses a blank book, empty pages that came with no instructions, no prompts.  Just the hope, perhaps, that it might become a book of healing. 

Moses wasted little time.  The next morning, before his sons, Jonathan and David, than 5 and 7 awoke, he began a ritual that would carry him through the heartaches of the next 12 months.  He penned a letter to the woman he still calls 'his forever love,' Ann, who died in August, 2008, of complications from breast cancer, leaving him alone to raise their two boys. 

Writing letters had long been at the root of Ralph and Ann's connection.  And, in the end, it would be letters...the spelling out of his love, his worries and his shattered dreams...that would carry him through the anguish of losing his wife far to soon. 

For Moses, grief poured out in words on paper!  To express feelings in a group, or with therapist or confidant.  'What is the key to understanding that grief is a reaction to loss, and we all react differently,' says Doka, senior consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America.  He sees journaling as a therapeutic tool that is instrumental (writing the letters) and intuitive (pouring out feelings). 

'Most people aren't enclined to call anyone at 2 in the morning, when they're tossing and turning.  Letter writing can be an outlet anytime,' says grief counselor Nathanson.  'So many times people feel this mass of emotion.  When you put words down on paper, it's one thing at a time.  It has the potential to organize what feels like a jumble of emotions.' 

Moses, who started every heart-wrenching day for 375 days with just such a letter, knows the power of those words.  'It was a way to stay connected to her; I couldn't let her go,' he says.  'It wasn't denial; as a social worker I know what denial is.  Physically, I had to let her go.  Spiritually...I will never let her go.'

'What it did was it carried me through the stages of grief.  It carried me through deep sorrow, intense feelings of loss, and gradually into other stages, depression certainly, then over time into acceptance. 

In writing, I could see still the longing the intense love.  If anything it's stronger than ever.  But, gradually I was getting more comfortable in my new roles, whereas in the beginning I was almost paralyzed.  And he knew when to write the final passage.  On the day that would have been their 12th wedding anniversary, he boarded a bus with his book of letters, and sat down beside his wife's grave.  He wrote one last love letter. 

'As time has passed since you died last summer, I've begun to notice within myself that what once seemed so recent, like only yesterday, now feels like so very long ago...ALL of this used to feel like it just happened.  Now, it almost seems like ancient history.  I'm afraid that for me, reality has finally set in.  'To my always...from your forever...Love Ralph'"

THE ARTICLE CONTINUES...

GETTING STARTED:  Perhaps you, too, have a grieving heart.  Or an anxious or stressed-out heart.  Whatever the problem, you've considered journaling, but the blank page scares you every time.  Here are a few suggestions for getting started in this healing art.  

FORGET RULES; There is NO wrong way!  If you're going to do it...you're doing it the right way.  For you, that's the only think that matters.  Don't worry about spelling errors and grammar errors.  None of that is important.  What is important...is that you write and get down your feelings and thoughts, etc.  

LET SOMEONE ELSE GET IT ROLLING;  Copy a favorite poem or lyrics or a quote or two.  It's a bit of a trick to get you over the hump of staring at a bunch of blank pages, wondering how in the world will you ever fill it.  

PRETEND YOU ARE WRITING A LETTER TO SOMEONE YOU LOVE; It might be the someone you've lost, or maybe even a letter to yourself.  Or...a dear far-away friend.  Just sit down and write as if you are sharing all that matters with someone close to your heart. 

KEEPING IT PRIVATE; Worried about onlookers peeking at your pages?  Try slapping 'Mine' stickers all over the front and back covers.  That'll get the message across; Keep out! 

GO WITH PICTURES; If you're put off by putting it all into words...try to make a collage.  Flip through magazines for words that capture what you're feeling, or images that inspire you or remind you of the one you love.  Until you feel ready to pick up the pen and put it in your own words, you can stick to glue and scissors.  

EMBRACE THE BEAUTIFUL; Maybe shopping for a book with a cover you long to hold is the thing to get you started.  Ditto finding a pen with ink of your favorite color, or with just the tip to make the words flow.   

OR NOT;  Maybe it's the notion of a special book just for journaling that is tripping you up.  So skip it.  Grab a wad of printer paper and any old pencil. 

MAKE IT A RITUAL;  Pick the same time and same place each day.  Perhaps, you'll pour a big fat mug of coffee or tea, curl up in your favorite window...all triggers, whispering; 'It's your page, fill it as you please.'

SCRIBBLED INSPIRATION; Keep a small pad of paper in your pocket or purse.  Scribble down ideas as you go about your day.  Each might be a launching pad for a journal entry.  When you sit-down to write and your mind has gone blank, reach for the doodle pad, and see what sparked a thought that might be worth exploring.

COLLECT PROPS; Some journal writers fint it helpful to collect thought-sparking souvenirs.  One longtime journal writer says she's 'like a crow,' filling her pockets with tidbits from her day's travels.  Perhaps, it's a movie stub, or the number from waiting in line at the deli.  When you sit down to write in your journey, you can affix the morsel...whatever it it...and get telling some story. 

FILL IN THE BLANKS; 'I really want to tell you about ...(blank); The latter is a roundabout way to get yourself writing.

SURF FOR IDEAS; Check out those wonderful journaling sites. createwritenow.com.  Or just type createwriternow.com;  journalingsaves.com; Or just type 'griefjournal' into any search engine, and you'll be amazed at all the journaling sites that pop up.  Everything from 'death of a spouse' to 'transcending divorce' to losses due to a particular illness or accident

END OF ARTICLE; 

From: RKA Writing.co; Therapeutic writing; Pick up a pen, write down your thoughts and dump your baggage.  Creative writing is therapeutic, even if the writer never intended it to be.  The pen can often take the writer by surprise.  A character will do something unexpected or a story will take on a new and unplanned twist.  This is one of the things that make writing both cumpulisve and exciting for me.  A friend spoke to me recently about the therapeutic aspect of writing. 

"I never really understood what you meant by it," she said.  "until my mother died and I then sat down and wrote about her.  Now, I understand the meaning of therapeutic writing. 

You dont have to wait for such a sad occasion to start gaining the benefits of therapeutic writing.  If I'm going through a hard time, I write about it in my notebook, and it helps.  It doesn't make that hard time go away, but it celars my head and allows me to work out pathways around my troubles.  Sometimes I realize that what I considered to be a problem wasn't such a big deal after all.  I worked through it on the page.

From: Writer's Write:  Why writing is good for your health by Dr. Cheryl Dellespie.  Every writer knows that there is nothing better for one's mental health than writing.  While producing a well-crafted prose or poem is an especially fulfilling aspect of our profession, nothing can frustrate more that the ability to move words out of the brain and onto the page.  Those who have suffered from the latter condition, won't be surprised to hear that studies suggest writers and other creative types, suffer from mental illness more frequently that the rest of the popualtion.

COMMENT: (My Two-cents);  That may be true , but we're not talking about professional writers here...and the casual writer should continue the use the art of writing whenever possible to help him or her cope.  If I were a prefessional writer...I'd be crazy, too.  This fact should not deter the casual writer from continuing his or her therapeutic writing and journey to good healthl. 

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For those of you, who want to know more about how all this suffering (2 decades) came about, can learn more by going to the following article;

Headaches:  A Learning Disability For Sure! 
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=58262

 Pain is pain and does not discriminate!  The young...the old...and it doesn't matter the color...the religion or the gender...pain affects everyone! 

When I started writing, I posted my articles on an article directory.  During the registration process, I was asked what is the field of my expertise.  My answer was the fact that I'm not an expert in any field.  If I'm an expert in any field...it is in the field of pain...because I suffered pain for so many years! 

During all those years, it was a combinition of things that got me out of pain...and eventually got me well...and one of those things that helped me to get my sanity back...writing! 

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