Solitude Won’t Heal Your Life — Talking and Writing Will

How to practically exorcise the demons of your emotions.

Don’t get me wrong. Being alone is wonderful. I’m able to recharge my batteries only when there’s nobody around, and as a mom of two preschoolers, I hunt for moments of solitude just like a hungry cat tracks down its prey.

Besides, meditation and mindfulness-two powerful antidotes against emotional distress-are best served when one is left in peace. And yet, it’s the (not so ‘sexy’, perhaps) communication between two humans that often yields the mightiest results.

You’ve heard it before. Words are magic. Words heal. But how can that be, when words of other people are typically the very thing that drags us into the stinky waters of pain, self-pity, anger, and shame?

Let’s simplify the whole thing. We use words to describe something to another person. In order to describe something, we need to first understand it. And here is your key.

Let me elaborate.

A chair is a chair. But for me to label a piece of woodwork with this word, I need to identify it as such in my head. Now, we don’t describe only pieces of furniture and other worldly objects. We also describe our feelings. And if I’m able to put my feelings into words, I’m able to…