Writing, My Other Outlet

 I have been focusing on my ride coming up in September and it would be easy to only concentrate on that. But for me, the most important part of the ride is what inspired it to begin with, my writing. The ride is a fundraiser for five different organizations that help people with different aspects of PTSD and issues that can lead to it. I was diagnosed when I was twenty two and when I decided to write Sharing Strength, which then became a series, I wanted to share not only the military side but also additional reasons people can experience this debilitating concern.

Cycling has become a strong source of therapy for me in the last nine and a half years. I find that when I feel anxious or overwhelmed, I can get on my indoor bike and crank up the resistance, go to the gym and take a spin class, or get out and enjoy the scenery as I pedal through the emotions. All of these things have helped heal me when I was experiencing a bad time in my life. I literally would sweat out the emotions as I pedalled though each moment toward a rejuvenation. It is a therapy I never thought I would find, especially because I was well over two hundred pounds and the thought of any physical healing seemed impossible. Luckily, things changed for me about thirteen years ago.

Not only did I find cycling after I was able to change my thought process and finally begin losing weight, I found a confidence I had been lacking. Once I embraced the ability to do more I started taking on challenges such as my first distance ride and I finally jumped into the passion I have always had and decided to take the next step with my writing. I wrote and published my first book in 2014 and began work on the original version of Sharing Strength. It took me years to finally complete it and a big part of that was writing and exploring the other four books in the series. By finding out more about each character and learning their stories it helped to shape what Sharing Strength would eventually become.

Now, looking back on the series, I can see how much of myself is in each of the stories. Survivor is based on my own true story, Fish captures feelings I endured and some of the things I went through, Crash follows a character I thought was more of a secondary character but came to connect with more than almost any others as I got to know him, Combat forced me to really get to know the military side of PTSD and I learned so much through my research and the incredible veterans that helped me. Sharing Strength was a culmination of everything and the way it came to life as I wrote it made me feel every struggle and triumph and I healed with the characters, wept and celebrated with them. It was a journey that I am proud to have made with them.

I have a a number of hobbies and creative outlets but I am grateful for cycling and writing to release the stress and give me a way to connect to my healing. What are some ways you let go and relieve the stress and tension of your life?