by A. H. Manjikian

Created on: March 29, 2009

Out of nowhere something happens that hits us like a semi full of gasoline. The loss of a loved one, the betrayal of a friend, or a bad day at work . . . It does not matter what has happened, it is the fact that it has happened. This, in turn, triggers the primal "flight or fight" drive that is ingrained into our very nature. Unfortunately, we cannot always act upon this impulse, either because we are told we cannot or giving into our desire would cause even more pain or grief. In times like these, we need an immediate way to express ourselves in a constructive manner. At the same time, we want something that helps us figure out what is going on and how to deal with the situation. Talking about what has happened is good, writing is even better, especially creative writing.

Creative writing allows a person to change the characters, scenery, and other things around, make the trauma come on more slowly or speed up its impact, and even have the tragedy happen to someone else. Or instead of writing about the actual event, the author can delve into and live out their hopes, dreams, and wildest wishes, and draw comfort and inspiration from them. Either way, they are changing their perspective and shifting, even ever so slightly, stress and pain away from themselves. This allows them to take a step back and reflect on what has happened.

From blogging to novel writing to creating a haiku, the method of reflection will be as varied as the author. These forms, though, fall into two basic categories, poetry or prose. Poetry in its simple complexity is often easier to write in times of high stress because its very form dictates quick, powerful, and short combinations of words. Able to create beautiful laments, inspirational words, and provocative verse, it is the written equivalent of yelling and screaming. Hurt, anger, frustration, and other raw emotions explode out of the writer in a quick burst. Unburdened, they can gather themselves and focus more on their deeper thoughts and feelings in order to sort through them.

By its very nature, prose is more of a long term healing approach than poetry. It is like having a very detailed conversation with oneself. The conversation may only be a few short paragraphs or a continuing saga that spans volumes of pages. It may be written once and forgotten or written, edited, re-written, and edited again, until the jumble of thoughts and feelings makes some sort of reasonable sense.

Once a person has sorted through their feelings and thoughts, the healing process can begin. How long it takes or what happens next depends on the person. It is the fact that first step has been taken that is the most important.

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