Taking a Writing Break
I’ve been spending the day updating my email list for the two bi-weekly writers workshops I facilitate. In addition to a solid core of dissociative writers who come back time and again, a number of folks sign up but never come, and some who come once or twice, but never come back. Perhaps that’s you.
From The Art & Science of Taking Better Breaks
It’s Okay
Don’t worry, it’s okay. There are lots of reasons why people WANT to come but DON’T come. We may be in the middle of triggers and flashbacks. We may not be ready to trust. We may have alters who put up resistance. Life may just be too chaotic. This is all normal for those of us with dissociative disorders.
I Take Breaks Too
Did you notice that I didn’t write or send out a blog this week? That’s because I, too, was overwhelmed, feeling resistant, and experiencing emotions that were over-the-top. Even twenty years out from integration, I still have to monitor my inner well-being in order to keep my whole life in-sync. I take breaks too.
Support Community
Writers workshop is a community of people who support one another, not only in our writing process, but in learning how to trust each other, share our deepest secrets, and honor our resistant alters. We know from experience that taking care of ourselves always comes first. However you’re feeling, we’ve been there and done that. We understand.
If you’re afraid your writing isn’t “good” enough, please hear me now: that is not true. You don’t have to be an accomplished writer. Come just to observe, if you’d like. Or submit a paragraph or brief poem. No matter where you are on the writing continuum, you will be affirmed in writers workshop and supported in your growth.
We’re Always Here
I do clean up the email list now and then so you’re not receiving messages you don’t want. I always ask before I drop an email. Many times, people want to be kept on the list until they're ready. Never hesitate to reach out and sign up, if you haven’t already, or come back, if you’ve left. We’re always here!
Dissociative Writers
In addition to our bi-weekly writers workshops, some of our folks have created a group called Dissociative Writers that meets monthly in order to plan other activities for our writers. For instance, DW is self-publishing an anthology of dissociative writing and art in January, 2022 called Creative Healing: An Anthology of Poems, Prose, and Art . Some members of DW will be leading a workshop on writing at An Infinite Mind Healing Together Conference in February, 2022. And you’ve probably noticed we’ve had three guest bloggers from DW right here in this space.
Self-Care
Writing can be a form of self-care. However, writing that comes with pressure to show up and put out can impede our healing.
If you feel compelled to write, let the words roll off your body, mind, and spirit, and onto your page. Don’t force it. Let it be. Know there is a community of writers ready to affirm you, when you are ready.
Invitation
Check out my website at www.lynbarrett.com where you can download my free ebook called DID Unpacked and receive a free weekly newsletter. My memoir, Crazy: Reclaiming Life from the Shadow of Traumatic Memory will be released on January 3, 2022. PREORDERS are available NOW on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online. Check out our Tote Bag Special for the first 50 preorders! Our new Dissociative Writers website is filled with writing opportunities to explore.
What Do You Say?
Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Do you think taking a break is the same as setting boundaries? Why or why not?
What prevents you from coming to writers workshop?
If you come to writers workshop, what sustains you there?
🕊
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes … including you.”
Anne Lamott