So, you had trouble falling asleep. Again. Or, you woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. Or both. Why does this happen and what to do about it? The following is excepted from “Up at 4 A.M.?” by Amy Spencer, in the magazine, Dr. Oz The Good Life, Jan-Feb 2015 (an oldie, and hopefully a goodie). What happens If we’re not sure how something will play out, our primitive mind prepares us for the worst possible outcome. Survival Back in our cave days, our ancestors needed to be prepared to fight or flee to survive. Key The primitive part of the brain—the amygdala—thinks our idle ruminations are urgent matters that need to be dealt with right away, as if they are real emergencies. Wide Awake And there we are, wide awake, ready and alert, to battle the catastrophe that we have imagined. What To Do Take some deep, relaxing…
Tag: How To Write Without Adding Trauma
Use your writing to heal.
Use the difficulties in your life and represent them in your writing. Describe the difficulties as if writing a scene in a novel. Look at your situation from a different point of view – from that of a character in a story. Take A Break When your writing becomes too difficult, stop. Take a break. Take a walk. Treat yourself to a glass of iced tea or hot apple cider. Wash your hands with special scented soap. Do something physical to relax your mind. Use a focal point as a reminder to relax and breathe deeply. A focal point is anything you like to look at: in your home, your writing environment, or outside. Have A Plan Have a plan for when you are feeling overwhelmed and need relief from emotional tension while you are writing. Prepare a healthy snack before you begin to write. When the writing gets difficult,…
Does your heart hurt? Prompt #269
Does your heart hurt? I’ve been hearing “My heart hurts” from several friends these past few days. And when I hear their stories, my heart hurts, also. What to do? I believe in healing through writing. So, let’s write. Write about: Does your heart hurt? Write all the details you can about this. What happened? Write all the details that you know. If you were directly involved: Be as detailed and as explicit as you can. When did it happen? Day of week? Time of day? Where did it happen? Who was involved? What were you wearing? Were you standing or sitting? If you weren’t directly involved: Write as many details as you know. Then, focus on why you are affected. What connects you to what happened? Why are you affected so strongly? Read the next part after you have written about why your heart hurts and how and why…
Use emotional experience for fiction
“Vietnamese American Vu Tran says when he writes fiction, he is less concerned about using any ‘factual experience’ he has had, but instead seeks to relate the ’emotional experience’ he has lived.” — The Writer Magazine, December 2015 When I read this, I sat up and paid attention. “Aha,” I thought, “Brilliant idea to tap into the emotional element of an experience and bring that into fiction writing.” Vu Tran used a traumatic event in his life to explain a pivotal character in his fiction. “. . . fiction writers can often have more impact if they draw on their emotional experiences rather than just relating what actually happened.” Vu Tran used this philosophy when writing Dragonfly (set in Las Vegas) while in Chicago. “. .. the distance from Las Vegas worried me at first. But I decided the emotional memory of Las Vegas . . . allowed me to…