Have you ever been told not to cry? Or laugh? No public displays of affection? Don’t wear polka dots?
If so, how did it make you feel to be choked off like that? Rejected? Restricted? Denied?
A colleague of mine recently mentioned in a comment from my last blog that she was once called out for being “too depressing” in a poetry group.
It got me to thinking… is it possible to be too depressing as a poet? Too happy? Should this be a means of dejection from writing? Never to be addressed…?
Writing as a form of therapy has been known to massively benefit mental health… a primal scream to just get it all out. Worked for John Lennon! Once we let out this literary primal scream, we are on the outside looking in. This can be done by journaling, reviving memories, recounting feelings that were experienced during moments…
According to Elizabeth Sullivan, a licensed marriage and family therapist in San Francisco, “one of the most powerful aspects of therapy is cultivating the ability to observe our thoughts and feelings.” https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-power-of-writing-3-types-of-therapeutic-writing#1
Accepting themes that can be depressing as a sort of tonic of acceptance allows us to digest traumas and move on. Losing a loved one, loneliness, personally dealing with a fatal illness… all potentially socially awkward themes that should not be allowed to be smothered, denied, or restricted.
Pinterest recently predicted in its 2023 trends report, “alternatives to talk therapy are on the rise”.
Taking communication to another level by incorporating rhythms and rhymes with personal experience into poetry makes writing a bit cathartic in a sense. . It can actually heal our brains!
Poetry (like music) is the most incredible art form, presenting a platform by which to express whatever emotion we are feeling. Many affirmation poems, or what I like to call redemption poems, do this quite well. Bouncing back!
Some of the best perspectives come from some form of adversity. As writers, we draw upon this rather than avoid it… only to write about the moon and butterflies. Not that there is anything wrong with either!
Lonely butterflies on the moon… hey, if we can endeavor to mix the good with the bad, we might create some incredibly strong moods from which to draw upon.
Let me know what you think in the comments below… As always, I love to hear from you!
Matt Elmore
