Sometimes we need an outlet when we're feeling stressed by job loss or change. This week's USA Weekend, a magazine-type insert that is carried in the Atlanta newspaper, had a good article about decreasing your stress by writing down your concerns.
Here's part of the article, written by Jenny Rough: "Divorce, illness, job loss. Pick a traumatic event in your life, then write about it. Studies show that doing so can improve your health. James W. Pennebaker, a psychologist at the Univ. of Texas and author of Writing to Heal, says bottling up major life traumas is dangerous and can increase your risk of illness."
If the idea of scribbling down your problems sounds difficult, Rough recommends four books to help you get started:
On Writing, a Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King
Courage and Craft: Writing Your Life into Story, by Barbara Abercrombie
The Artist's Way Every Day, by Julia Cameron
Thinking about Memoir, by Abigail Thomas
You can probably find most of these books at the library, or the library can order them for you through the West Georgia regional library system. These are not necessarily faith-centered books, but they may give you a jump-start on writing as a way to relieve stress and focus on what kind of changes you eventually want to make in your career and/or life.
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