Self Medicating

We have all played amateur doctor and self-medicated during times of duress and strife in life.  Be it alcohol, recreational drugs, or unsubscribed prescription drugs that we borrowed, we’ve all attempted to escape from the stress of a situation.  The one common thing with self-medicating is that the issue is still there once you return to reality.  Once the buzz is gone, here comes the crap again.

There is another form of self-medication I 100% support and use myself.  It’s a wonderful drug that frees your mind and your heart and brings a nice amount of balance.  It’s called writing.  Unlike other forms of self-medication, writing does not mask the issues.  Rather, it forces them out of you.  For me, getting my issues down on paper or on the screen is twofold.  It gets my thoughts and feeling where I can literally see it all and process it accordingly.  That’s the very reason counselors and therapists strongly encourage their clients to journal.

Holding things in is like having a bad infection and refusing to get medical attention.  When an infection is not treated, it continues to spread.  The same thing happens when we internalize.  The crap just continues to grow till it impacts us all over and even our relationships on the job, with the family, and with our significant others.  It’s a bad scene all the way around. 

If you find yourself off in the ditch, self-medicate with a little writing.  You will be quite surprised at how much better you feel, and the best part of all, there is no hangover and no bar tab with writing.  Happy “self-medicating”…I mean writing.