The Ancient Art of Letter Writing Helps With Anxiety
Escape the pressure of modern communication.
I still remember the thrill of receiving an envelope with my name scrawled on it. When I moved to France from the UK at the age of 11, letters were the only way to communicate with the friends I left behind.
Lonely, in a new country, I longed for these letters. Each one was a gift, something a loved one had taken the time to create, to take to the post office and send off into the mysterious void of the postal system. Writing them gave sense to my life, it was a time when I sat down, paused, and reflected on what I was doing and what was happening. And I had my lurid stationery, sparkling glitter pens, and stickers that made the act of writing letters even more exciting.
Gradually, the letters dried up, and we moved on to Hotmail and MSN messenger as ways to communicate. It was more practical and exciting to be able to speak to each other in real-time. For a decade or so afterward, the only things that fell into my letterbox were amazon parcels and bills.
That is, until this year when I decided that it was time to take up letter writing once again.
As a full-time traveler, I am always far away from my friends, and so Skype, WhatsApp, and messenger are my main means of…
