Approaching trauma through our words

"Those who can't do, teach."

This is a saying that people use to identify a lack of skill in others as if to say those who are unable to actually do something pretend to qualify themselves by teaching it instead. I think the saying has a much more literal and practical purpose than that. The best way to learn something is to teach it to others because the act is a very efficient and effective way to investigate what one actually knows and in so doing, identify knowledge gaps and begin to close them. Teaching is a learning strategy where the teacher can continuously be the student, a feedback loop.

Taking this idea a little bit further is the reason there is so much value in writing ones thoughts and why when one does so, it has a cathartic and somewhat of a healing effect on the psychological and emotional understanding of the issue addressed. When one writes the tendency is to write for an audience, even if there will never be a reader other than oneself, like a private diary may be.

This audience are essentially the students, a teachers class, and the writer will naturally think about how to express themselves to get their ideas transmitted across the gap. While running through this process, new thoughts, ideas, connections and revelations arise that begin to close the gaps in knowledge and with greater understanding comes a higher degree of control of circumstances in the mind which can significantly change ones experience of life.

Under normal conditions, the mind is lazy and tries to avoid difficulty through various mechanisms including distraction and ignorance but writing about experience forces the mind to review and consider positions. The process is more likely to take the person out of the situation and become an observer of it which gives the space to look at it without experiencing it again and to be a little more pragmatic. This can take the emotional charge out of even traumatic experience and potentially release the feelings that have lay locked away unresolved.

The reason for this is that as one writes for the audience (regardless if it will be public or not) it puts the writer in the role of teacher, a position of control and one that carries responsibility of a teacher, one of control. Situations that may have been outside of ones circle of influence can be brought into it within the safety of a page where no more harm can be done and instead healing can take place, or acceptance as the case may be.

We all have things from our past that could easily become baggage if not dealt with and continually effect our experience and delving into it to either take away its influencing force or, understand it enough to work with it can dramatically improve our experience. For me personally, I spend a lot of time writing and the things I have learned about myself and the world by approaching them through words has been freeing. Writing not only forces me to consider, it slows my thinking down and gives me a chance to take the time to consider well.

Not that every piece makes its way onto the blockchain but writing for a real audience has the benefit of an addition feedback stream that supports my own learning and understanding. When we read the words and experiences of others we understand them from our own experience and often they draw out our own memories and emotions from the past. If utilized well, this becomes a learning cycle where writer and audience are continually sharing and consolidating experience and detaching from the emotions of the past while keeping the learned knowledge from it.

There is a massive amount of value in writing about our experiences, especially what we might find as negatives as often under investigation, we are able to find positives that we might not have realized existed as we focus more heavily on the costs. What this means is rather than our traumatic or difficult experiences controlling us, we can leverage them to empower us, to improve our situation and find positives within that instead of feeling oppressed by, become grateful for.

The world in which we live gives us many ways to escape dealing with traumas, but it doesn't mean we escape the effects of them. Finding ways to use them to improve rather than excuses as to why we cannot can be more worthwhile and rewarding than the initial cost of having them in the first place.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]