As a writer, it can be fairly easy to succumb to the dreaded phase of creative block in my process. When the ideas flow, they feel light and airy, and the words leave my mind with little to no effort. And when they don't, I can easily find myself staring at my laptop, both overwhelmed and underwhelmed by the blank page in front of me. Filling the blank space with words no longer feels like second nature, and where there once was ease, there is suddenly resistance. Whether it’s due to burnout or the ideas are just not as free-flowing as I'm accustomed to, brain fog is real. However, through trial and error, I have learned that it is very possible to access creativity by exercising those areas of the mind.
I never thought the answer to not being able to write could be more writing, but there is something there in that recipe. Through journaling, I have been able to free myself from the confines of mental blocks, find my center, release anxious thoughts, and discover answers to questions I didn't know I had. Recently, I have taken journaling a step further by moving away from guided journaling and embracing flow even more through the practice of morning pages.
What Are Morning Pages?
For those of you unfamiliar with what morning pages are, it consists of writing three pages in a stream of consciousness. No rhyme or reason, just writing your thoughts by putting pen to paper and thereby offering you a release. The concept of morning pages got its origin from author Julia Cameron and her book The Artist’s Way. In it, she described how utilizing the tool has transformed her ability to create. Although her solution was given in the context of being a writer, creativity flows in and out of our lives in a plethora of ways. You don't have to be a painter or a musician to be creative.
Creativity is everywhere. It finds us as we create solutions for problems we may encounter in our life, love, and work just like it does when we're thinking of composition in the next photo we take. Bottom line, morning pages are an outlet for decluttering your mind while also helping you connect to your creativity which in turn speaks to your inner child in a nurturing way.
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The Difference Between Journaling and Morning Pages as a Daily Practice
For people who might already be into traditional journaling, you might be wondering what the difference between journaling and morning pages is. While both practices can be done daily and act as tools for catharsis, morning pages hold a deeper purpose, and the practice is done in a more ritualistic way. Morning pages is a practice that is structured, as you do it daily, it acts as a means to spark your creative process, and isn’t bound by feelings. Instead, morning pages are more focused on the mind and clearing what’s in it. As Cameron said in her book, the intention behind morning pages as a daily practice is to “sweep our consciousness clean.”
Journaling, however, is often done more sporadically with the intent to write out your feelings. Journaling can cross over into morning pages territory but is often less rigid in frequency and length. Conversely, morning pages are written every morning and are generally three pages in length.
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Prompts for Writing Daily Morning Pages
So, what do you write in your morning pages? It is encouraged to take time in the morning to sit and write down your thoughts for three pages with a pen to paper. The beauty of writing morning pages daily is that you begin your day with clarity and creativity. There is no specific guideline about what you have to write about. However, for people who might find themselves stalled on where to begin, prompts for writing morning pages might be helpful to start.
If you want to start writing morning pages but don’t know how to begin your practice, here are 10 prompts for morning pages to get you started:
- Do you believe your dreams speak to you? If so, what have yours been saying to you lately?
- What are you currently most grateful for in your life?
- If gratitude is something you're just adopting, what was the journey to gratitude like?
- Name 5-7 things you love about yourself and your life.
- Name the things you feel neutral about in regard to yourself and your life.
- What are things that you absolutely don’t like about yourself or your life?
- Is pleasure something you allow yourself to feel freely? What are some ways you give yourself pleasure?
- Where are you right now and what are things about your surroundings that make you feel safe?
- Are there things about yourself or your life that you haven’t forgiven yourself for yet? Why or why not?
- What is a word that defines your life right now? In turn, what are some lessons you’re currently learning or relearning?
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What — you didn’t know? A part of the reason why having a broken heart can be so potentially devastating is that it literally can wear out your system. In just a sec, I’m going to share with you how; that way, you can know how to handle heartbreak, from a physical standpoint — and also share it with others in your world, too. Because, unfortunately, death and taxes aren’t the only things that are certain in this world. Live long enough and…heartbreak is as well.
And the more you know how to handle it, the better.
1. Heartbreak on Your Brain
GiphyWhen it comes to what heartbreak does to your brain, the first thing that I found to be interesting is the fact that when you’re in a (semi) serious romantic relationship with someone, the part of your brain that is activated is called the caudate nucleus; it’s the same part that inspires and motivates you. And y’all, that is why, when you’re in love, you tend to want to do whatever you can to keep your partner happy.
On the other hand, when the relationship ends and you are in the process of healing from it, a part of the reason why the pain is so heavy is because it takes a while for your brain to catch on to the end of the dynamic — and so, it actually waits to feel stimulated in the way that it was used to and, when it’s not rewarded in that way, dopamine levels drop and profound sadness typically comes as a direct result.
Oh, something else to keep in mind is research reveals that love is an ultimate and literal painkiller, so much to the point that it activates the same part of your brain that a cocaine high does. So, when that sensation no longer exists — like crashing from a drug…your lows can end up being…very low.
Heartbreak on Your Heart
GiphyA few years ago, another writer for the platform wrote an article entitled, “Broken Heart Syndrome - Yes, It's A Real Thing.” It actually discusses some of the impact that heartbreak has on the heart itself. The technical term for broken heart syndrome is takotsubo cardiomyopathy; it’s what can happen to your heart when you encounter highly stressful situations (like a break-up). The symptoms can range anywhere from shortness of breath and irregular heartbeats to a drop in your blood pressure, chest pains and even fainting.
Interestingly enough, you are more at risk for broken heart syndrome if you’re a woman or if you’re 50 or over. Anyway, since broken heart syndrome mimics a heart attack in a myriad of ways, if you are feeling any of this, you should alert your physician. They can run tests to diagnose what is really going on.
Heart Heartbreak on Your Immunity
GiphyAlthough you may have never actually thought that heartbreak could wreak havoc on your immune system, once I break down how, I think it will make perfect sense to you. That said, I don’t know about y’all but whenever I go through a break-up (or a huge relational disappointment), it tends to be hella stressful. And stress and immunity are not friends.
For one thing, stress can cause inflammation throughout your immune system and, when that happens, that can weaken your immunity which can make you more susceptible to getting sick (or it taking longer to get over being under the weather). Just one more reason to take healing from heartbreak seriously.
Heartbreak on Your Digestive System
GiphySpeaking of stress and your immune system, since 80 percent of your immunity is in your gut, it would also make sense that a broken heart could result in your digestive system being a bit compromised as well. In fact, some health experts say that if you’re noticing abdominal discomfort, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea and you’re currently going through a stress-filled situation like ending or grieving a relationship, that could be why you’re experiencing those types of symptoms.
Heartbreak on Your Hormones
GiphyThink back to when you were in the beginning stages of the best relationship you ever had. If one way that you would explain the feeling is if you were walking on air, to some extent, that’s not an exaggeration. The reality is that being in love/a healthy romantic dynamic causes your dopamine (it makes you feel good) and oxytocin (it causes you to bond to other people) levels to surge — both of which are natural hormones in your system.
And then, when heartbreak happens, the stress hormone cortisol starts to go into overdrive which can cause you to become anxious, have trouble sleeping and to possibly experience depression-related symptoms. The neurotransmitter serotonin tends to tank too which causes you to have a loss of appetite, to not sleep well and to possibly even have hot flashes.
Heartbreak on Your Nervous System
GiphySince some health experts say that going through a break-up can impact you on basically the same level of someone close to you passing away — and that can put your nervous system through quite a bit too. For instance, something that I found to be interesting is that, according to science, the two nervous systems that typically keep each other in balance (the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems), they both end up amplifying which causes them to “miscommunicate” — and this can lead to lots of anxiety or to becoming a bit emotionally erratic.
Heartbreak on Your Energy Levels
GiphyEmotional exhaustion is absolutely a real thing and heartbreak is one of the top issues that can lead to it. That’s because, when you are going through the process of ending a relationship, it can lead to overthinking, feelings of regret, going through multiple “closure conversations” — things that are stressful and can really take a lot out of you. As a result of all of this, you may not want to eat, you may become a temporary insomniac, your cycles may be unpredictable and you might have headaches too.
Heartbreak on Your Skin, Hair & Nails
GiphyFace breaking out? Hair not growing? Nails more brittle than ever? If you’ve recently broken up with someone, that could be the reason why. As we’ve already discussed, few things are more stressful than the end of a serious relationship and another way that stress can take its toll is in your appearance.
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Geeze. I know, right? Is this the most feel-good article in the world? Probably not. I do hope that it keeps you from gaslighting yourself — or allowing others to do it.
If you are going through a heartbreak and you’re not currently feeling like yourself, as you can see, it’s not “all in your head”. Some of what you’re feeling/experiencing can be very real and deserve to be handled with care.
Heartbreak is hard. Take care of you.
ALL OF YOU, please. Your mind, body and spirit need it.
Science says so.
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