If you’re an attorney, this may not shock you. Did you know most lawyers work from 49.6 to 80 hours every week? Legal Trends Report shared this data for full-time attorneys and also noted that 75 percent of attorneys work outside of regular business hours, with 39 percent of them seeing a negative impact upon their personal life.

All the concentrated, long work hours, coupled with a lack of a healthy work-life balance, takes a toll on anyone. From burnout to addiction and substance abuse, to anxiety, depression, and even suicide, attorneys suffer from the damaging side-effects of working excessive hours.

A survey of 13,000 full-time attorneys by the American Bar Association reports that “28 percent of lawyers suffered from depression; 19 percent of lawyers had severe anxiety and 11.4 percent of lawyers had suicidal thoughts in the previous year.”

So what’s a legal eagle to do? Attorney Paul Alexander Sangillo, like most lawyers, works very long hours and deals with stressful situations daily. His aha moment led to a solution to destress and enjoy some stolen free time: he wrote a legal thriller, “The Golden Prison.”

Attorney and Author Paul Alexander Sangillo has been practicing law since 1997, specializing in corporate, real estate, and transactions. Sangillo wrote this book because of the fascinating characters and stories he encountered as a young attorney. He made a commitment to himself that he would write, every time he had even a sliver of free time, and stuck to his routine until he had his first draft.

“I am always under stress, but I love my work,” said Sangillo. “Writing this novel was something I didn’t know if I could do, but once I started it was like immersing myself in a complex case. From the plot to the characters, it was not easy but it was rewarding. It really helped with stress. I was surprised by the skillset an attorney possesses that is exactly compatible for writing a book.”

During the writing process, Sangillo quickly discovered he also needed to be extremely careful discussing the characters and the plot, though they are all fictional. He also said it was interesting and often challenging to separate true law and fiction writing.

“It’s really vital to never use real clients or cases in your book,” he said. “Attorneys know that but it’s still difficult not to want to include some of your favorite characters, and we all have those clients for sure. You need to be creative and original in your writing, but you can use your own legal experiences as a powerful influencer in your writing.”

The author said if you want to give book writing a try, just follow these suggestions.

1. Never use your real client’s names or professions.

2. Make sure your plot is really fiction. You can be inspired by your cases but you need to write fiction. You can use elements of any case, but make sure to mix it up and make it new.

3. When you describe any arrests in your book, just use what you know. Keep it real and don’t make it over the top. Reality is a lot more surprising to readers than a dramatic scene that just doesn’t ring true.

4. For courtroom scenes, you can have a lot of fun writing the most dramatic courtroom statement. Your readers may not want to spend their time on the nuts and bolts of the case, but they will love an attorney’s oral arguments. Here is where you really can be dramatic!

5. Step outside of your comfort zone. I had to write some love scenes and at first it felt awkward but I got over it. And now people tell me all the time they love those scenes! A good novel needs some kind of romance or attraction for key characters.

6. Just like a lawsuit, make sure you end the book with an opportunity to keep it alive, so you can write a sequel.

Lawyers are gifted storytellers. The next time you are feeling anxious, write a few lines and get lost in the process. When researching this article, this reporter found over 200 studies reporting that writing improves mental health. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers numerous clinical studies showing writing of any kind, including fiction, journaling, and more, provides “less depressive symptoms and anxiety after one month and greater resilience after the first and second month, relative to usual care.”

One of the most famous attorney-authors of fiction is Scott Turow, an American author of legal thrillers who has written 11 fiction and three non-fiction books. His books have sold over 30 million copies and have been translated into over 40 languages, with numerous hit films created from his works.

Turow famously said of his work, “All my novels are about the ambiguities that lie beneath the sharp edges of the law.”

Sangillo said he decided not to self-publish, but instead pitched his book to a publishing firm. If you want to check out his book, visit https://www.amazon.com/dp/1941015468