How Writing Letters to Grief is Like Free Therapy for Your Grieving Process

Looking for free therapy for your grieving process? It took me years before I realized that I process my emotions through writing. When I started writing—both journaling and writing articles for publication—I discovered how therapeutic it could be to get my thoughts on paper. It was like a release. Free therapy, in a sense. Little did I know at the time how writing letters to grief would impact my grieving process.

Four months after my mom died, I received news that my maternal grandmother had passed away. When I told my husband, he sat next to me on the side of the bed and put his arm around me in an attempt to comfort me. I stood up and said, “I just need to write.”

Writing was the best way for me to process. I needed to take time to collect my thoughts on paper before they escaped and disappeared.

Finding an Outlet for My Grief

After my mom died at age 59, I didn’t want to be angry with God because I believed that He was a good God and had good plans and purposes. But I still felt as though I needed a place or a way to release my varied and conflicting emotions.

One day, I sat down at my laptop and the Lord gave me words that became “An Open Letter to Grief.”

By writing letters to grief personified, I felt I could be honest about my feelings and the depth of my loss while also telling grief that it did not have the final say.

I was able to acknowledge the impact of my loss and the resulting grief, yet also declare the hope and victory I have in Christ, recognizing that grief is temporary and will soon be no more.

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE HERE

including an excerpt from my book, Letters to Grief