by Joan Inong

Created on: April 13, 2009

Not many people can afford a psychologist or counselor to help them with their problems, but finding and using hobbies to one's advantage is easier than paying for an expensive counseling session. Writing is one of those activities that may help people cope with their problems and think through them. It is, simply put, cheap therapy.

Writing has many benefits. Those who only write because they have to will say that writing only causes them stress. They have to think about so many things: punctuation, grammar, spelling basics, style, content, etc. But, those who truly love to write will profess their undying gratitude for writing and what it offers them. For these people, writing is not only about the technical aspects: it is not merely about spelling or punctuation or the way you word your argument. Writing for these people becomes a type of therapy that allows them to open themselves further to the world. It is their way of communicating themselves to the world.

What can writing offer for people? First, those who have written in diaries and journals will know that the following is true: writing releases stress in so many ways. If you are the type to think and worry about every little event in your life, then writing in a diary is beneficial because it gives you a way to vent without having to talk to someone every time. And, most importantly, writing allows people to think through problems more clearly. Have you ever been unable to say what you really mean to say, and then realize that when you write it down, it becomes clearer? This is the problem with words; sometimes, we want to say something, but "we can't find the words." When we think through the problem, and silently work it out, it seems that the problem is easier for us to see. This is the magic of writing.

Writing has been cheap therapy for many writers over the course of modern human history. Writing can sometimes be prohibited because people have written things that are not "meant" to be known. How did these people come to terms with these ideas? They were able to think through them and then write them down. Those people who had problems in the fourteenth or fifteenth century and wrote them down are able to pass down those feelings and emotions to people today through the use of words and paper.

People should not be afraid to use writing to their advantage to help them through their problems. People often do not see its benefits clearly and they don't even bother to think of writing as a type of therapy. But, for those looking for quick stress relief, writing is an immedidate possibility for answers.

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