Writing Practice Prescription

There gets to be a place in chronic illness where you realize that being ill is not going to stop you from living well.

–Rachel Naomi Remen

When you carry the burden of a chronic disease or health condition, life can be downright hard and seem quite unfair. Still a ray of freedom resides in the form of choice. You may not choose to be a diabetic, but you can choose how to respond to your diabetes and manage it to the best of your ability. In an interview published online in Share Guide, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, author of Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfathers blessings notes that “the place in chronic illness” mentioned above is “where your freedom lies.” She goes on to say, “Yes, I’d love to see perfectly, I’d love to be able to run three miles. I can’t do those things. But the quality of my life is so much deeper than it was when I was able to do those things. So there’s a freedom to transcend your illness, not by curing it necessarily, because a cure is not available to everyone, but by making your life larger than it is. Growth is possible for everyone, even if a cure is not.”

Note that she speaks to the fact that a cure may not be available to everyone, but healing can be activated nevertheless. “Curing” speaks to the elimination of disease or disease symptom, often through the use of medicine, surgery, or psychotherapy. “Healing,” on the other hand, refers to restoration of being whole, aware of the rhythms of the the world and in our lives, and being empowered by this understanding. Healing brings peace, acceptance, and love.

The Healing Power of Writing

You can use your writing practice to heal a chronic problem that sets you back. The goal of your daily 15 minute writing sessions will be to bring into focus the problem that now haunts you. Remember to write fast. Don’t think.

At the very beginning, just write about your problem using speed writing to let your angst take form on the page during your writing sessions. No right or wrong answers exist here–just “write” answers. Do this for at least a week writing at least 15 to 20 minutes a day, three times a week. You can write more than three times a week and you can do this for one week or more. It’s your call.

On the last day of your writing sessions, dedicate that writing session to describing how you felt when you began this exercise and how you feel now.

author of Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfathers blessings.

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DrT notes: You can learn more about Dr. Remen by visiting her website at www.rachelremen.com. This post quotes Dr. Remen from an interview posted on the Share Guide website which you can access by clicking here. To learn more about Share Guide, click here.