Writing Out the Murky Subconscious

I've had good things and difficult things happen to me in my lifetime. I've done OK. Gotten through things. Grieved, overcome, rejoiced, etc. Why is it, though, that my characters seem to bring out the most intense feelings? I feel like writing might be a bit of therapy for me. For instance, I adopted my two Ethiopian daughters two and a half years ago, and the story I was writing at the time turned into an adoption story.

Right now, I'm writing a story that is very important to me. This character is experiencing some of the more painful things I've experienced (for different reasons, under different circumstances, with different people... but still, somehow it always ends up that way, doesn't it?)

Maybe that's what good writing is though--an outlet for the subconscious, where all the nitty-gritty hard-to-feel hard-to-tackle stuff tends to hang out.

This current project has brought some peace and self-love into play that I didn't know I needed. I'm very grateful. She struggles, she overcomes (slowly, with some drama, of course) and I love her for it (and therefore, love myself for what I've been able to handle, too.)