Want to relieve stress and connect with others?
Journaling “dates” can help you do both!
It was not until I joined a women’s writing group held in Marilyn Bousquin’s home (now called Writing Women’s Lives Memoir Academy) about 15 years ago that I began to speak. And my story was held by the women who I had just recently met. It was like I was a baby who first uttered sounds, then began to form words, and then sentences, and then poems to try to understand why I had internalized the violent message that I was not already beautiful as I was. The women in the writing group didn’t judge me. They listened with attention and kindness. They sat in the comfy chairs and let me speak my truth for the first time. It was a wave of relief.
Maya Angelou reminds us that “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
As a child of emotional neglect, I carried this agony of silence inside me. Because I did not grow up learning how to express my emotions, I did not know how to feel alive. I did not know how to self-advocate using my own voice. I did not know how to translate my body’s clues.
One of the earliest stories I carried in silence was that I had to conform to the world’s beauty standards to fit in. The port-wine stain birthmark on my face was something I hid. I did not know how to communicate with the world that this was what made me beautiful and different. I literally froze when strangers asked me if I was okay, since once they saw my birthmark, they figured I was harmed or injured.
I now know that the strength required to keep something a secret (the effort involved in inhibition) has stressful effects on our bodies. Researchers James Pennebaker and Joshua Smyth in Opening Up By Writing it Down (2016) conclude that “After confessions, significant drops in blood pressure and heart rate as well as improvements in immune function occur. In the weeks and months afterward, people’s physical and psychological health is improved” (41).
So, what are you keeping quiet that wants to be told and shared? We will help you hold it. We will listen with attention and kindness.
The journaling “dates” are designed for you to “dip your toes” into the waters of journaling, so they are meant to move at a slow pace as you continue to care for yourself while you tell your story.
Join me in November, December, and January, on the second and third Tuesdays of the month from 11 – 11:30 (MT) / 1 – 1:30 (ET) for journaling “dates” on Zoom.
If you want to use your journal to tell your story in a safe and supportive group and to find relief from the stress, join our women’s journaling group and sign up here for six journaling “dates.” Drop-ins are welcome too!
https://jessicamaggiebrophy.com/events/
The “dates” will take place on:
November 12 and 19
December 10 and 17
January 14 and 21
11 – 11:30 (MT) / 1 – 1:30 (ET)