The Healing Power of Poetry
Poetry is a form of literature that is based on the interplay of words and rhythm to evoke a concentrated imaginative awareness of an experience or emotion. To put it simply, poems are products of artistic writing that aim to stir the imagination and emotions of people. Aside from being a form of literary art, poetry is also a therapeutic platform. It has a healing power that can make people feel better mentally and emotionally.
Tim Segrest, an author and an army veteran, emphasizes this healing power of poetry in his latest book entitled Perfect Flaws. It is a collection of poems about how the author himself managed and dealt with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms. Most of the poems included in this Tim Segrest masterpiece are war poems, but there are also some that refer to everyday living things. For Tim Segrest, writing poems about his emotions, thoughts, and experiences greatly helped him, so he chose to publish his book in the hopes that poetry can also help other people heal and transform in the same way that he did.
To convince your further of the healing power of poetry, here are some of the essential reasons why writing poems can be good for you:
Poetry can be a great outlet for your emotions
Poetry gives people a platform where they can freely express their emotions in a creative manner. When you write a poem, there is a tendency for you to channel your feelings into every line that you write. Your poems are always the result of all of the emotions that you gather and turn into a craft. Therefore, poetry can be considered as a great outlet for your emotions.
Regardless of whatever feelings or thoughts you have, you can always write about them and turn them into a poem. Poetry does not limit poets when it comes to what they can or cannot write about. So, if you ever feel the need to let your emotions out, but you are quite hesitant to share them with another person, then you can always turn to poetry. Unload your heavy emotional baggage through a poem!
Poetry encourages a sense of mindfulness
Poetry encourages people to be mindful by allowing them to connect and pay close attention to their thoughts. When you write a poem, you always tend to pause for a while and think deeply. Poetry gives you the time and space to think about the things that you do not usually pay attention to every day.
In search for some significant things to write about, you tend to become observant of your surroundings and conscious of your feelings and thoughts as you try to write a poem. Therefore, writing a poem somehow allows you to cultivate a sense of mindfulness, which is very helpful in reducing stress and regulating emotions. When you engage in poetry, you become mindful; and when you become mindful, you tend to become physically, mentally, and emotionally healthier.
Poetry can help you connect with others
Poetry usually establishes a connection between the poet and the readers. It gives you the ability to connect with other people through your poems. Whenever you write a poem about a specific experience or feeling that you have, there is always a good chance that other people might relate to it because they have the same experience or feeling as you. This is what allows for a connection between you, as a poet, and the readers.
This social connection that poetry brings you is greatly beneficial, of course. It can improve your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. More so, it allows you to develop a higher self-esteem, a greater empathy for others, and a more trusting character.
Overall, poetry is indeed a therapeutic platform. Writing poems is both healing and transformative because it allows the voice of the soul to be echoed and reflected in words. As Tim Segrest has said, “Poetry is an expression of how people feel or see a related topic or thought.” It gives you the freedom to write about anything that you feel or think about, which allows you to release all the heavy baggage that might be straining you mentally and emotionally. Ultimately, the healing power of poetry lies in its ability to make people feel like they are being heard.