The Power of Writing

While watching "Girl, Interrupted", I couldn't help but think about Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper". Both of the main characters are very similar in that they help themselves cure their problems through writing. For Gilman, sharing her thoughts with her husband or doctor wasn't an option because they would label her as crazy. She had to turn to her journal to help her through her post partum depression. Susanna, the main character in "Girl, Interrupted" helped herself through her journal because that is where she was able to realize what was truly wrong with herself. The doctors could tell her, but until she wrote down what she felt, she was going to have a hard time healing.

The power of writing was what helped both characters. That was the best way that they knew to channel their feelings. It's almost as though they were thinking "If no one will listen, at least I can share my thoughts in writing". Letting our thoughts boil up inside of us will only cause more problems, and these characters teach that any available source to release that energy is critical to self-healing.

The article below, written by psychologist Karen A. Baikie and psychiatrist Kay Wilhelm gives a very detailed analysis of the benefits of writing for healing. They also produce the results of their clinical observations on patients. http://apt.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/11/5/338 They found that most patients found writing to be valuale and meaningful, which made me think that even if writing therapy doesn't work for all, if patients find meaning in what they are writing, then they should continue writing.