How to Write Poetry for Therapy

Writing poetry can be very therapeutic, as it's a great way to get your feelings out. Read on to learn how to use poetry to improve your mood and life.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Always carry a pad and writing implement. Once you start writing, you may find that poetry will come to you at all times of day and night, and you should always be able to write it down. If poetry starts coming naturally, you may even want to keep a notepad and pencil under your pillow at night.

2. Don't worry about rhyming or style. Poetry can come in many forms, and whatever you write is just fine. If you try to follow a specific style or get hung up on trying to rhyme, you'll negate the effects of the writing.

3. Write whatever you feel. The most therapeutic writing will be expressing your pain, fear and hatred. Get it out. Write whatever you're feeling. Release the feelings onto the paper, and let them go. You may choose to try to write happy things to change the way you feel, but it is often better and easier to express the things that are making you unhappy, so you can get them out.

4. Don't worry what anyone else will think of your writing. You're not doing this for money or fame, you're doing it as therapy. No one else ever needs to see your work unless you want them to.

5. Don't be afraid to use graphic imagery and foul language. It's therapy, do whatever comes to you. Even if your poem is just a list of profanities that flow from you, go with it. You're trying to get the pain and anger out, let it come out however it wants to.

6. Keep everything you write. It can be good to go back and look at your writing. It can help you see what you were feeling at the time. If you start writing without thinking about it (which means it's flowing naturally) you may not even realize what you've written. Reading your past work can also help you to see what issues are plaguing you the most, and perhaps aid you in fixing those issues.