This is a really effective way to work through traumatic events and to help manage the emotional fallout of situations that involve other people.
Quite often, we have things to say about life events or about situations that we might feel are almost 'unsayable'; often because you don’t know how others involved might receive what we say, or it could be that you are worried that by saying these things that ‘bridges might be burnt’ or the person might not see you in the same way afterwards, e.g. “they might think I’m a horrible person if I tell them how I really feel about what happened”. Sometimes it might be that you can never have the chance to say these things, even if you would be happy to, as the person isn’t here any more.
Maybe your best friend or your siblings or your parents just aren’t able to hear what you need to say, or it could be that you have things you might like to say one day but you don't feel ready to say them just yet.
Writing a letter that you will never send is a great way to say these ‘unsayable’ things and can also help you get some form of closure on the situation. As with the journal, writing helps you express what you need to say and make the unclear clear, and the implicit explicit, without worrying about any reaction from the other person or without the expectation of a response because you will never send the letter.
So, write the letter, say what you need to say and then you can destroy it afterwards or save it if you’d prefer – or you can even email it to yourself, it’s up to you.
You are in control of this which helps with the therapeutic bit, this is another very effective form of creative expression that leads to healing and is helpful in moving forward.
