Writing Through the Mess: How Creativity Heals What Logic Can't

Life doesn’t always make sense. It’s messy, unpredictable, and sometimes downright painful. In those moments, logic often falls short. It tells us to fix things, to make sense of the mess, but sometimes, the only way to move through it is to feel it. That’s where writing steps in.

Logic wants clarity. Healing demands chaos. When you’re deep in grief, trauma, or emotional overwhelm, no list, plan, or strategy can stitch you back together. But creativity? Creativity can hold space for the things that don’t make sense. At least the ones that don’t make sense yet.

UNDERSTANDING THE MESS

The mess is the heartbreak. The confusion. The silence you carry because no one ever asked what really happened. It’s the moments when you smile through the pain and convince yourself you’re “fine.” Writing through the mess means giving that hidden storm a voice.

Thoughts feel like they don’t make sense. That no matter what you do, there is no getting out of the feelings that you are stuck in. However, when you are stuck in the messiness of everything, you don’t see the way out. You can’t feel the way out because you are trying to survive.

Emotional Chaos vs. Mental Clarity

You can know you're safe now, and still feel terrified. You can tell yourself it wasn't your fault, and still carry the shame. That's the paradox of trauma. Emotion and logic don't always align. But writing lets both coexist.

Do you feel the pressure to have everything figured out? From career to relationships to self-love and self-care, we all think that everything has to always be figured out. That isn’t how life works. That isn’t how healing works. 

Healing isn’t linear. Yet we expect ourselves to be productive, polished, and put together. Writing breaks that pressure wide open. It says, “Show up messy.” It says, “You don’t need to make sense today.”

Writing gives you permission to be confused. It gives you permission to not know what the next step is. It gives you permission to put words on paper to give yourself time to figure it out.

Trying to control pain only tightens its grip. But when we create, when we write, we don’t control pain, we accompany it. That’s how healing begins.

THE LIMITS OF LOGIC IN HEALING

Ever tried to think your way out of grief? 

It doesn’t work. You can rationalize a situation to death and still feel like you're drowning. That’s because healing isn’t just a mental journey; it’s emotional, spiritual, and embodied.

Some experiences defy logic. Abuse, betrayal, loss; they don’t come with clear lessons. They leave you raw. And logic tries to tidy that pain into neat boxes. But what if you let yourself stay open instead?

We live in a world that worships resilience but shames the process of falling apart. Creativity doesn’t rush you. Writing, especially, invites you to linger, to explore, to speak the unspeakable. It connects you with other people who understand how you feel. They are the ones who are cheering you on to keep moving forward. 

WAYS TO USE YOUR CREATIVITY AS A HEALING TOOL

You don’t need answers. You need to release. When you write, you're not solving a problem; you’re speaking a truth. And sometimes, that’s the most healing thing of all.

I remember an old friend of mine saying this to me when I had come to her just to talk, 

“Do you need me to help you find a solution or do you need me to just listen?”

It was in that moment that I realized that most of us are out to give people solutions. We aren’t there to listen just to listen. Instead, we are there to fix AND that is not what people always need. 

I recommend using this question when you are talking to someone who is venting to you or even better yet, when you need to vent to someone, start by telling them what YOU need. 

Using Metaphors To Help 

You might not be able to say, “I’m hurting,” but you can write about a cracked vase or a stormy sky. Metaphors unlock what the conscious mind can’t access directly. 

They act like a key turning in a rusted lock, opening doors to emotions buried too deep for plain language. Instead of naming the pain, you paint it, giving it shape, sound, and color so your heart can speak in a way your mind can finally hear.

Rewriting the Story of Your Pain

Writing gives you authorship over your experience. You can reclaim the narrative, even if the events stay the same. You’re not just the character, you’re the narrator now. That shift is powerful. 

It’s like stepping out of the wreckage and picking up the pen instead of the pieces. When you write, you don’t erase what happened; you reshape how it lives inside you. You choose which moments to give voice to, which truths to highlight, and which chapters no longer get to define you.

Creating to Release, Not to Perfect

This isn’t about writing something good. It’s about being honest. Let your grammar be wild, your thoughts scattered. This isn’t a performance, it’s a process. Think of it like crying on the page. Raw, messy, and real. 

You’re not trying to impress anyone; you’re trying to exhale what’s been trapped inside. Creation, in this space, is a form of release, a soul unclenching. It’s the scribble before the masterpiece, the scream before the silence, the truth before the edit. Let it be whatever it needs to be, because that’s where the healing lives.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE WRITING AS MEDICINE

Journaling 

Journaling isn’t just for to-do lists. It’s a place to scream without noise. Cry without judgment. Remember, without being interrupted. And every word you write down is one less secret you carry.

You can use journaling prompts, a bullet journal, gratitude journaling, or art journaling. The possibilities are endless for ways that you can get your words into a journal. 

Poetry and Prose

Sometimes your soul speaks in stanzas. Sometimes it rambles on pages. Whether you write poems, rants, letters, or lists, it all counts. If it’s true, it’s powerful.

This is one of my favorite ways to get my emotions out. It doesn’t have to make sense. Some days, the words just flow out. On other days, the words slowly come out.

Blogging

Blogging isn’t just for businesses or for people trying to make it big. I started blogging as a way to share my story because it was slowly killing me from the inside out. Putting words on a blog was a safe way for me to share my struggles and what I was going through while still remaining anonymous. 

By that, I don’t mean completely anonymous. Instead, I mean that I could share with complete strangers who didn’t know me. They wouldn’t recognize me if we walked past each other on the street. This made me feel safe. It gave me an outlet without having to walk around with Sexual Assault Survivor as a badge. 

No matter how you choose to write, the page doesn’t talk back. It doesn’t gaslight you. It doesn’t tell you that you are overreacting or try to fix the problem. It just holds your truth.

You might have lost your voice along the way. But it’s not gone. Writing brings it back, word by word.

HOW TO START WRITING THROUGH THE MESS

You don’t need to be a writer. There is no wrong way to write. If you can feel, you can write. You don’t need a degree. You need honesty, a pen, and a willingness to be raw.

Writing Prompts To Help You Get Started…

• Right now, I feel…

• If my pain had a shape…

• The thing I never said is…

• 
  

Start with emotion. Let the words tumble. Don’t edit. Don’t censor. Let it be what it needs to be.

Not great at grammar? Don’t let that stop you!

Forget spelling. Forget punctuation. This isn’t English class. It’s soul class. There are tools to help with all of the above. There are NO tools that can help you put yourself on the page. NOT EVEN AI! 

THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY IN CREATIVE HEALING

You don’t have to share your writing, but if you do, choose people who honor your process, not people who want you to hurry through it.

There’s magic in being witnessed. Consider joining a group where stories are sacred and messiness is welcome. We would love to have you in the Empowerment Circle Membership and the Pages For Her Facebook page. 

Remember, you don’t need to have the answers. Your writing doesn’t need to tie everything up in a neat bow. Let the ending be open. Let healing be ongoing.

Just like writing, healing happens in drafts. Some days you revise. Some days, you just sit with the page. All of it counts.

Writing through the mess isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about finding yourself. It’s about daring to speak the words no one else could say for you. In the silence after trauma, in the chaos after heartbreak, creativity steps in, not with answers, but with possibility. Write not to be understood, but to understand. Your voice is waiting.