National Writing Day encourages everyone to put pen to paper and discover the power of words. Organised by First Story, the day celebrates creative writing, self-expression, and storytelling for people of all ages. 

To benefit from writing you don’t need perfect grammar and spelling, to be the next JK Rowling or even particularly creative. Writing can be used as a tool to process emotions and reduce stress. 

Expressive writing may help process emotions and reduce anxiety, especially if writing feels like a natural and safe form of emotional expression.  With all therapeutic tools, some may work for you and some may not. If you decide to give this a try, check in with yourself after to determine if this is beneficial for you. 

When thoughts are not expressed, they can sometimes begin to feel overwhelming. Writing can help take anxieties from our minds and place them onto paper, reducing the energy and power they have. 

Writing might help you to: 

• Slow racing thoughts; 

• Identify emotional triggers; 

• Reduce anxiety and stress; 

• Improve self-awareness; 

• Build resilience; 

• Process difficult feelings and experiences; and 

• Improve sleep. 

Making space for writing in our busy schedules can also provide us with uninterrupted time to reflect.  You do not need to start crafting a novel: even writing for a short amount of time daily may help you feel calmer and more grounded. 

One of the easiest ways to begin writing for wellbeing is through journaling. Some may prefer to write freely, jotting down whatever comes to mind.  For others, it might help to start with some prompts. Some journals provide these, or you might prefer to create your own list of prompts to support you in your expression.  Some ideas are: 

• What am I feeling right now? 

• What would I say to a friend feeling this way? 

• What has been challenging this week? 

• What am I grateful for today? 

• What do I need more of in my life? 

You might choose to buy a notebook, use notes on your phone, or even scraps of paper. 

Suppressing emotions can cause stress, low mood, anxiety and emotional fatigue. Writing is one way to express emotions and provide a healthy outlet for emotions. 

Journalling after a difficult conversation or stressful day may help you: 

• Understand why you felt the way you did; 

• Notice patterns in your relationships or behaviour; 

• Reduce emotional intensity; and 

• Clarify what support you may need 

National Writing Day encourages everyone to write, and writing for wellbeing is about expression. You do not need to be an author, journalist or poet, you do not need to be perfect or even ‘good’ at writing. Therapeutic writing could be messy, unfinished, raw and private. Try not to spend time analysing what you write: the process of writing can be enough!  It is also important that you only share what you have written with people who will not judge and with whom you feel safe.  

Writing can be valuable for children and young people who may find it difficult to share their emotions verbally. For some young people, putting thoughts onto paper can feel safer and less overwhelming than saying them out loud. 

The process of writing can help children and young people organise their thoughts, process feelings, and better understand themselves. Writing, storytelling, poetry and journaling can help them to: 

• Build their emotional vocabulary; 

• Develop confidence in expression; 

• Explore their identity and experiences; 

• Reduce feelings of stress or anxiety; and 

• Feel heard and understood. 

Families can support children and young people by: 

• Encouraging journaling without correcting spelling or grammar; 

• Offering prompts such as “What made you smile today?” or “If your feelings had a colour, what would they be?”; 

• Providing notebooks, pens, or creative materials that feel personal and inviting; 

• Encouraging storytelling, comic creation, song lyrics, or poetry rather than formal writing; 

• Respecting privacy: children may feel more able to open up freely when they do not need to share what they have created; and 

• Writing together as a family occasionally to support this form of expression in a relaxed way. 

If you would like to try writing you could: 

• Start a gratitude journal; 

• Write a letter to your future self: if you wanted to, you could even send it to yourself as an email on a future date; 

• Create a short poem; or 

• Keep a place to offload your thoughts before bed. Some people like to use a whiteboard for this because writing worries down helps get them out of your head, and physically wiping the board clean can feel like a small ritual to let the day go. Keeping your offloaded thoughts somewhere safe and perhaps ensuring they are kept away from where you sleep can ensure they are not the focus before you go to bed.  For children, they may want someone safe to take care of their thoughts and, if they chose to, revisit them the next day, 

In a busy world constantly demanding our attention writing offers us space. A space to think, process and heal.