Therapy Day?

Therapy Day? Well, no...but after reading this, you might think it should be.

So, I've been grappling with something for a long time. How personal do you get when you write, or, how personal do you get when you write online (or other publication) and for all to see?

I can see this going two ways:
1) I get personal. That's what people do online - they open up, raw and honest, to get a point across, to relate to the audience, or to just be noticed. After all, we are a voyeuristic society, and love train wrecks. How else do you explain the phenom of celebrity, or E! for that matter? Poetry should be pure, whether in observation or emotion, but to what level?

2) I give you glimpses but never really reveal the truth, out of fear (I would probably call it "courtesy") of not embarrassing myself, my friends or family. I've seen things, man. THINGS. But seriously, there's a lot more that could be released than what I've been giving. Read my personal journals, and you'll see the darker paints of me. I am crap at writing fiction, so heading in that direction to mask what's really there isn't such an option right now. But holding back doesn't do justice to the art, either.

I guess I've always worried that if I reveal too much in my writing, people will think I'm a head case, and maybe I am...no, I am - I'm pretty sure...or interpret the situations I write about differently than intended. I have to get over this fear...but keep it balanced...