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Note To Self – Writing for Wellbeing

Name: Note To Self – Writing for Wellbeing
Start: 2023-06-06T19:00:00+01:00
End: 2023-06-06T21:00:00+01:00
Location: Stanway Lakelands Centre

June 6 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Free

Writing for Wellbeing – A Note to Self

Discover how creative, expressive and reflective writing can help you to better understand and manage the complex thoughts and feelings that come with grief, especially following the loss of a loved one to addiction, alcohol or drug use.

Grief can give rise to a mix of contrasting thoughts and feelings that exist at the same time in the months following loss – sadness, guilt, anger, even relief and gratitude – which can feel uncomfortable and difficult to express – and they’re all welcome in this workshop.

We’ll read and discuss creative prompts that show how to accept and give voice to your experiences, and then go on to explore practical ways of writing, such as journaling, to do this with kindness and compassion. You’ll have the opportunity to become aware of unhelpful thoughts and feelings, how they show up in your life, any judgements you have about them and how to care for yourself when they do. This introduction to writing for wellbeing will offer tools that you can return to time and again to support you in daily life and throughout the Blossome Summer Self-Care Programme for Grieving Hearts.

As well as being therapeutic, I hope we can also enjoy our time together and there will be a chance to socialise more towards the end of of the session (with snacks and drinks of course!). You don’t need any writing experience or to prepare anything in advance, just a willingness to give it a go.

Safety and self-care

We aim to provide a safe and supportive space for all who attend, where varied experiences are welcomed equally in a non-judgemental and caring environment.

Facilitator

Meet Georgina Jeronymide-Norie, a writing for wellbeing workshop facilitator with over 10 years’ experience of holding spaces within mental health, education and community settings. She has an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes with a focus on bereavement and using writing as a tool for self-care and remembrance. Following several significant bereavements as a teenager and young adult, Georgina turned to poetry, creative writing and self-help to help her understand, articulate and come to terms with her grief. Heartened by how much this helped her, she set about sharing the therapeutic potential of writing with others.

Stanway Lakelands Community Centre

The new Stanway Lakeland Community Centre is a beautiful brand new venue, purpose built for community activities and events. This session will take place in the boardroom on the first floor, with tremendous views to the country park.

Stanway, Lakelands Community Centre, Colchester CO

Q & A

This is not group therapy but it is facilitated by a writing for wellbeing therapeutic practitioner offering space and time for people to engage in a way that may support overall wellbeing. We’ll offer signposting to professional services for further support as part of the session.

The Note To Self – Writing for Wellbeing session will take place at the Stanway Lakelands Community Centre.

No, if tickets are available, you can enjoy this session even if you are not enrolled in the Summer Self-care for Grieving Hearts programme. However, you will experience more benefits if you take part in the 12-week programme, building relationships with the group, enabling you to feel part of the community and connected with others.

The session lasts for 2 hours, 7 – 9 pm. There is time before the end of the session to enjoy refreshments together with the group.

This workshop is for people aged 25-and-over who were bereaved more than 6 months ago or experiencing living loss. We suggest this because the workshop may be too challenging for those in the throes of acute grief, which often needs different modes of support. The themes and techniques we explore in this session may be better suited and integrated when some time has passed since the loss.

After the art making, you will have the opportunity to reflect on the experience and share with other participants as we sit in nature and enjoy refreshments together.