How Personal Writing Can Help You

Before I started blogging on here, I ran a style blog and a humor website. I enjoyed it. But I had trouble coming up with content. I thought blogging about my feelings would be easier since I don't have to make anything up.

But in a lot of ways it's more difficult.

For one, it makes me feel arrogant. Why would I expect other people to care about my autism? Everyone has problems.

But my therapist thinks personal writing is a great idea for people on the spectrum. A lot of us have a condition called alexithymia. It makes it difficult to identify what we and other people are feeling. We feel a lot of things subconsciously, but we don't always know how to articulate them. Writing can help us bring those feelings to the surface.

And it doesn't have to be narcissistic. Seriously. Look at the popularity of personal essays right now. Pretty much every publication, including the New York Times, has a major section devoted to them.

Because feelings are pretty universal.

Personal essays normalize the things a lot of us are embarrassed about. They show us how someone else has dealt with the same problems we have. People read blogs like PsychCentral so they can feel less alone.

That's not to say you shouldn't choose your words carefully, though. Personal writing is a major balancing act. The most-read writers on here seem to have it down pat. I'm still wondering what the appropriate balance is between entries about my own life, advice for others, and autism research and politics. Where's the line between using myself as a helpful example and imposing on readers? If you have problems understanding boundaries (and many autistic people do) it's a difficult line to walk.

And of course, my biggest fear is that nobody's going to read this fucking blog because I could be as uncharismatic on the page as I am in real life.

I moved to New York to go to design school. The feedback I'm getting says I have talent but I just don't have the personality to succeed in the field. And they're right. I've had a lot of trouble keeping up in class and at my internships. This was one of my biggest dreams since I was little, and now I'm pretty sure it's not an option for me.

Because I'm autistic.

I write about having autism because it makes me feel less alone. I love reading people's comments. I love knowing that I've managed to strike a tiny chord in someone else's mind that shows them they're not the only freak out there. It gives me a purpose.

So I'm going to keep writing.

Source: How Personal Writing Can Help You