The power of the written word has been known for centuries as a vehicle for self-expression.  As a therapist, I have used letter-writing with clients as a powerful tool for healing.  I also know the value of writing-as-therapy firsthand, for I have been writing most of my life.

There is something magical about "getting it all out" by expressing our thoughts and feelings, concerns and convictions.  When we are free to express our innermost yearnings -- our unspoken truths -- they somehow lose their power to dominate our thoughts and minds from behind the scenes.  

I like the metaphor of a child lying in bed, afraid of the "monsters" in the closet.  When the lights come on and the closet door opened, the "monsters" disappear, and what the child is left to face is simply the reality of the closet.  Nothing scary about it, just the closet with its clothes and hangers, shoes and laundry bags with dirty laundry in them. 

This is what it is like when we finally shine the light on our dark places by writing.  We look at things as they really are, and see that they aren't so scary.  We know ourselves more fully, as we really are -- with the lights on and the door wide open.  This transforms our relationship to ourselves. 

When we use writing as a vehicle for healing, our internal "monsters" have the opportunity to disappear and we can be more fully who we really are.