Write the Unspeakable. Then Shred It.

An affordable, evidence-based healing practice for depressing times.

Some of my deepest healing happens with a pen and paper. The rose and mountain views are optional. The shredder (not pictured) is non-negotiable.

Depression is on the rise. Is anyone surprised by this? We have a cruel narcissist for a president. We have terrible healthcare, and we're even losing that. Prices are outrageous and still rising. And we're watching a genocide in Gaza—something millions around the world are finally naming—unfold right before our eyes.

Over 20 million Americans are walking around with untreated depression, and they desperately need solutions. This is a systemic failure, and it's exactly why practices like qigong and tai chi matter more than ever. They offer a low-cost, accessible, evidence-based path for improving mental health.

But there are other affordable and accessible options for mental health. One in particular can help those who cannot afford treatment, those who are marginalized, and the neurodivergent. It's a powerful tool that stands alone and also complements other healing modalities.

It’s called Expressive Writing, and here’s everything you need to know to start right now.

What Is Expressive Writing?

I started using Expressive Writing after my divorce in 2018. My personal results were so impressive that I began sharing the practice with my qigong students within a year. Since then, hundreds of my students have used it to support their qigong and tai chi practice.

Here is why I believe so strongly in this method:

• It's affordable. You’ll need less than $40 to get started.

• It's accessible. Disabled people need healing too.

• It's great for healing invisible wounds that other modalities struggle to reach.

• It complements other healing methods, like qigong or yoga.

• It's supported by clinical research.

The goal here is to give your most difficult, chaotic, and "unspeakable" thoughts a temporary, physical form. You put the rage, the fear, and the old grief onto a piece of paper.

And then you shred it. Immediately.

What you need

You may need to spend some money for this, but no more than $40 total, and that's only if you don't have any of these tools. (These are affiliate links that will help fund my own Expressive Writing habit!)

Shredder: Any crosscut shredder will work, but I have this one. Cost = US$34.

Paper: I like legal pads for some reason, but any pad will work. I like these. Colors are fun. Cost = US$7.

Pen: People have strong opinions about pens, myself included, but any pen will do.

The shredder is non-negotiable. In the past, I told students they could burn their Expressive Writing, or even use a computer then delete it. I no longer recommend either of those methods. Burning is inconvenient and doesn't always fully destroy your work. And is digital deletion even possible anymore?

It's absolutely critical that your subconscious trusts this process 100%. A shredder will build that trust. Even the CIA can't make sense of a shredded document!

The shredder is a game changer. You need to trust me on this. I'm a daily journaler, and I've been putting thoughts on paper for decades.

I dismissed the shredder at first. I just didn't see how it would change things. I was dead wrong.

After using a shredder 3 times, I suddenly had an outpouring of thoughts and feelings from my subconscious, things I had never spoken before. Things I will never speak about again.

If you want to heal, get a shredder.

How To Do It

Here's the method:

Set a Timer. Start with 10–15 minutes. Find a private space. Lock the door.

Just Write. Positive, negative, and neutral feelings are all allowed. See prompts below.

Don't worry about spelling or grammar. Just get your pen moving, and then keep it moving.

Don't write good. No one will ever see this, and you won't even reread it yourself. It SHOULD be somewhat illegible. It can be full of awful secrets and mistakes and rage.

Try to write in a flow state. If you practice qigong, meditation, or yoga, this will be easier for you. If not, then just do your best. If the time disappears quickly, then you were probably in a flow state.

Remind yourself that you are free. You can write ANYTHING because you will destroy the entry soon. You may need a few sessions before your subconscious fully trusts this process.

Also write about physical sensations in your narrative. In other words, don't just write down what happened; write how you FELT about what happened.

Shred Immediately. When the timer goes off or you feel finished, tear off the pages and walk straight to the shredder. Do not pass go. Do not get distracted. Do not re-read what you wrote. Feed the paper to the shredder. If you miss this step, then the entire method will become ineffective. Everything hinges on this step.

Repeat. If the session was intense, then wait a day or two before repeating. If not, then try again tomorrow. Eventually, you will have a session that is intense and cathartic, usually within 2 weeks. Have tissues nearby.

Rest. If your mood plummets after a powerful session, stop for a few days. Although this is a sign of healing, it can take time to process the emotions. (Qigong will help with the processing. See below for low-cost options to learn.)

Prompts

Some of you will struggle to get the pen moving. If you're not sure where to start, try one of these prompts:

• What's been nagging at you lately?

• If you had to guess which emotion is stuck, what would it be?

• What keeps you up at night?

• What's something that you've never told a single soul?

• What's the worst thing you've ever done?

• In what ways are you too hard on yourself?

• What are you afraid of people finding out about you?

• Who have you not forgiven yet?

• What apology would mean a lot to you?

• What might your pain be trying to tell you?

Is This Therapy?

Let's be perfectly clear: this practice is not a replacement for working with a qualified therapist. Good therapy can be life-changing if you find the right therapist, the right therapy style, and you can afford it.

But let's also be real. Therapy is a privilege. It's expensive. Finding the right therapist can be an exhausting search. For millions of people, it's simply not a feasible option right now.

So, what are you supposed to do? Just sit with the overwhelm until your circumstances change?

Hell no.

The Evidence

This is not woo-woo. Expressive Writing is an evidence-based tool that is gaining traction. The research, pioneered by Dr. James W. Pennebaker at the University of Texas, has been building for decades. Study after study has shown that the simple act of writing about emotional upheavals—and then destroying the evidence—can lead to tangible benefits.

Don't just take my word for it. Here's some of the evidence:

Emotional and Physical Health Benefits (University of Cambridge): This is a fantastic overview of the research, summarizing that Expressive Writing has been found to result in improvements in both physical and psychological health. Benefits include fewer stress-related doctor visits, improved immune function, reduced blood pressure, and fewer post-traumatic intrusion symptoms.

American Psychological Association (APA) Podcast with Dr. Pennebaker: For those who prefer to listen, this podcast is a direct interview with the creator of the expressive writing protocol. Dr. Pennebaker discusses why the practice is so effective and how to do it. A key finding from his first study: students who did this practice went to the student health center at about half the rate of control groups.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – "Therapeutic Journaling": The VA's Whole Health Library officially recommends this practice. They note that research shows it can result in significant and substantial short-term reductions in post-traumatic stress and depressive symptoms, and that its effects can be "similar in magnitude to the effects of other psychological interventions, many of which can be time-consuming and expensive."

A Note on AI & Privacy

Many people are turning to ChatGPT as a form of free therapy. It's an understandable impulse in a world where real support can be hard to find. And while there are very real risks (especially if you deal with mania or schizophrenia), it can be effective.

But how private is it, really?

In an ongoing legal battle between The New York Times and OpenAI, a court recently ordered OpenAI to preserve all ChatGPT conversations—including ones that users had deleted. Let that sink in. Your "private" conversations, even ones you thought were gone forever, are now being stored indefinitely because of a legal battle you have nothing to do with.

It gets worse. Some shared ChatGPT chats have recently started appearing in Google search results. This happens when a shared link—originally private—is later posted publicly on forums, blogs, or social media, making it crawlable by search engines.

This is the fundamental risk of pouring your heart out to a machine. Your words become data. They exist on a server, subject to a company's terms of service and the complexities of the legal system. They can be preserved, subpoenaed, hacked, or analyzed.

The method I'm describing here is the complete opposite.

The words you write on a piece of paper and feed into a shredder belong only to you. They don't become data points. They can't be subpoenaed by a legal team. The process is 100% private and foolproof.

More importantly, it's more effective. An AI can offer you simulated empathy, but it can't facilitate the deep, physical, nervous-system release that comes from putting your pain into a tangible form and then physically destroying it. It's better for your soul, and it's safer for your privacy.

Bottom Line

This practice isn't a cure-all. But it's a powerful tool for these dark times. It helps unburden your nervous system from the extra weight of trauma, recent and ancient. And it will make anything else you’re doing for your mental health even better.

If you feel overwhelmed by the state of the world, you might be amazed at how much better you feel after just a week or two of this. A shredder might be the best investment you make in your sanity all year.

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Edit 8/7/25: Victor asked a brilliant question in the comments below. It’s so valuable that I’m inserting it here, along with my full reply. This is exactly why I value discussion so much—it helps dig up deeper layers of the work. Thanks, Victor!

Question: Sifu, you mention that we not reread what we write—immediately destroy what we just wrote. Would you please explain why it is not recommended. Thanks!

My answer: I think we avoid reading our Expressive Writing in order to bypass our inner critic.

This is a purge, and some awful stuff can come out. If you reread it, your thinking brain kicks in, and the inner critic along with it. That part of your brain will start judging, analyzing, and shaming.

Then, when we try Expressive Writing again the next time, the subconscious will remember. It will remember that this is not a safe process, that the stuff it pours onto paper will be analyzed and judged by the inner critic.

Immediately shredding without rereading will built trust with your subconscious. It says, "you’re safe here". No one—not even other parts of your brain—will ever see this again. That’s what makes it work.

If you want to reflect on things, that's journaling, which can also be healing. But for Expressive Writing, we want to shred immediately without rereading.

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About me: I’m Sifu Anthony, a longtime teacher of qigong and tai chi, and the author of the bestselling book Flowing Zen. These arts helped me heal from depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and ADHD burnout—when nothing else did. I write for people who’ve been failed by the system but haven’t given up on healing. People who value science but also know what it’s like to be dismissed, misdiagnosed, or gaslit by it. I don’t teach mystical fixes—I teach practical tools for mental health, trauma recovery, nervous system regulation, ADHD, and pain relief. I live quietly in New Mexico with my dog, my garden, and a view of the Sandia Mountains. More about me →

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Free & Low-Cost Resources

📖 My Book ($10–$17) – I wrote this book for the younger version of myself—the one who was lost and hurting. He desperately needed all of this information presented in a clear and honest way. I’m grateful it has received hundreds of kind reviews on Amazon—it’s now one of the best-reviewed qigong books out there. I think it’s because the book speaks directly to that struggle. If you’re looking for something that actually works, this might be it. It also comes with free video lessons to help you get started.

🔹 Watch a Quick Qigong Reset for Stress (Free) Learn a simple qigong technique specifically for stress and overwhelm in this short Substack video lesson. You can pick it up in 5 minutes and practice it in just 2.