I’m happy you’re here.

The art of storytelling can be a tool for insight to create change within the lives of ourselves and others. My novel (and writing to come) includes perspectives on mental health and wellbeing brought to you by the characters within.

It is my goal to create friends who fill the void for those in waiting of new love and connections. Reality (life) is a gift, but it is unpredictable and sometimes harsh. I’d like to suggest that our imagination is a second reality, the place we can come to when reality sucks.

Literature is my self-care.

I’m a sensitive human, and I have deep emotions. I once thought that it was a weakness. I was told it was a flaw.

Now I know it is a gift, and it is my strength.

As a person with an anxiety disorder, heart arrhythmia, and chronic gut issues, self-care is crucial to my quality of life and longevity. I am filled with love when I think of the characters within my work (and those of other authors) because they provide a gateway into self-care. This gateway bypasses blockers to mental health: shame, insecurity, fear, and rage.

The insecurities and fears we carry can naturally arise from the critical thinking and survival parts of our brain. That’s why my brain always warns me – “Is that a muscle ache or a heart attack?” and “Are they mad at me?” This is my brain doing its job to protect me, keeping me alert to all kinds of danger. It’s great when there is danger, and less great when there is not.

I am curious about what it means to engage concepts of wellness into my everyday consumption of entertainment. Our imagination can work for or against us when faced with these blockers. Following this concept, I believe a new reality of positive change can grow around us and from within. One method is via the art of storytelling and writing. We can create the things we lack and the things we need, and that is how I came to write my debut novel Second Reality.

In this novel, the antagonist(s) are both a reflection of personal experience and the embodiment of raw negative emotions. Take for instance, the character Josh – he always seemed to have a camera on Hope (protagonist), always taking photos and hinting at vulgarity. Some of the scenes with this character are true moments in my history, and other scenes are derived from my internal dialogue.

So, what is your dialogue? What dark emotions do you carry with you, blocking you from closure and recovery?

Writing is an opportunity to take something that is out of your control and incarnate it in a world you manipulate down to the microbe. A simple activity is to write free form onto a page, like in a journal, and release your negative feelings about a person, place, or predicament. It doesn’t have to be coherent or pretty. You can even doodle! When the page is full, give it a name or write “antagonist” at the top.

Then you will want to start a new page, where you imagine someone stepping in and making everything okay again. Maybe they say that witty retort you didn’t think of until it was too late, maybe they whisk you away and just hold you until you feel soothed, or maybe they come in and throw some punches! Name this page “the hero” or choose a name you like.

I love this writing exercise because in the first part you give yourself the space to just spew all the feelings out. This alone can leave you feeling worked up, scared, or helpless. However, in the second part of the exercise, you give yourself what you need. Your hero comes in to protect you and comfort you, or just sit with you whenever you need it.

You get this time to write what the hero character would say or do, instead of telling yourself that you should have done that or said this or felt differently. In this exercise, you allow yourself the space to feel the worst of what you feel. After all, those thoughts are just your brain doing what it was meant to do! Then because the hero you’ve created is going to think and do the best things possible, you also create closure and find guidance on the page.

And guess what?

The hero is a part of you.

Anything they say or do, any scene you write where they swoop in or hold you, or they say something of comfort – that character only exists as a part of you. This is a way to show up for yourself, be your own best friend, and know that even if you are sad, angry, scared, or whatever – there is also a part of you that is strong and capable.

This is my hack to self-care. Create what you lack. Place your new antagonist and hero into a story and let them be your purge and rescue you from one life-chapter to the next. You can find stories that do this for you, sometimes by chance. Not all literature is created equal. You can show up for yourself on the pages, or allow me. My characters were there for me, maybe they can be there for you too? You are so not alone.

PS: Just never forget: Ultimately, the hero is you.