Stress

As a writer, my craft becomes a release from stress. When I can't cry, I can make them cry. When I can't beat someone up, my bad guys can beat someone up.

I have certain characters that I toy with as a way to relieve stress, some of it ends up as good scenes. Some gets trashed.

Work is really bad right now, the whole situation has me on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Never actually have had a nervous breakdown but in the last few years a certain activity in my life has introduced me to the next level of stress: the panic attack. What's hard about panic attacks, even my mild ones, are the physical reactions that seem to shut your body down.

One of my characters struggles with these. Wonder where he gets it from.

Last night I sat down to do some stress writing. I couldn't decide if I wanted to continue in the current chapter, skip ahead to a happy scene, or write something mean and awful.

None worked out.

Time has not worked out.

So without my writing, I end up popping Ativans and hoping for the best.

My writing lets me expunge my emotions. What does your writing (or reading) do for you?