SnowDaisy

I've had a lot of time on my hands now that I'm not drunk for 12 hours a day, and I may have a lot more time on my hands soon because of my impending breakup. I've thought about writing about my feelings and whatnot every day, but I've been really scared to. I'm terrified of the feelings that will come up. I'm also paranoid because I used to keep a journal years ago, but my bf found it and read it and used stuff against me.

What are some of your experiences with this? Do you find it helpful, and what do you write about?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

sugarbear1

Do you want to journal?

SnowDaisy

I do. Just a little scared of facing myself, if that makes sense.

Grateful Heart

I think keeping a journal is an excellent idea. I kept a journal in the early days of my sobriety and it helped me sort my feelings and thoughts out. I still have it and I take it out and read it every once in awhile. Your bf was wrong to read your diary. That is your personal property. Grateful Heart.

MycoolFitz

Try whatever you think will help your sobriety and recovery. Journaling will not be the caquse of the tough feelings but may bring them to the surface where the light and the healing in. Leonard Cohen sings about "Everything has a hole in it that's wehat let's the light in." And in breaking up you wopn't have your BF invading your space. If the journal dosn't work sustitute it for something else. At this stage not picking up opens the door to all possibilites. All my best.

sissy07

The more I read about your bf the less I like him. Reading your journal and using it against you?????? What a jerk!

desertsong

I love to journal. It's a great way to get out your emotions out and is very cleansing. I've had a few journaling sessions where I was frustrated or angry with someone, and journaling helped get those feelings out in a constructive way, rather than screaming at the person I was mad at! It's also a good way to sort through feelings that don't make sense to you ... sometimes writing them down helps you to see things more clearly. I always feel like the weight of the world comes off my shoulder after I journal. It is a great way to get both insight and peace.

And if you don't dump the pig of a boyfriend, make sure you put it some place where he won't find it ... and if he DOES find it, tell him that HE is the reason you keep a journal in the first place because he's been such a slimeball to you.

macknacat

i really urge my sponsees to begin a daily routine of writing- seen lots of benefits in my own recovery: private place to rant and vent, a method to stop those mental tape loops when they're running amok, a place to return to later on and find out that, yes, i survived that and stayed sober, a resource to discover how small my early hopes and dreams were- and even a vein i could mine when it came time to write my novel...

MustStop

It was for me, but only track the areas of improvement. Its easy to get carried away and pour everything out, do that in another journal.

I did/do mine from Day 1-30 and wrote out the positive changes I made, ate healthier, exercised, changed up my living space, bought new things, talked to old friends, STAYED sober lol etc

Then day 31-60..clearer mind from not drinking for 30 days, getting into old hobbies and day 61-90 which has goals I have to meet in order to get the life I want. Now looking back it shows how far I've come and how dark the place was that I had been in for so long.

Its also good to set goals and meet them, makes everything worthwhile!

Good luck

eJoshua

I journal off and on depending on how much free time I have. I find it very useful and helpful. Oftentimes I look at the past with rose colored glasses, but if I can look back and read what I was going through at the time it makes me realize that I had problems then too, and today's problems don't seem quite as big any more.

Spawn

Journaling is a great idea!

It's better to get our thoughts out on paper instead of having them rattling around in our head.

And if someone finds it and reads it......they obviously don't respect your privacy!

SOBERINNEPA

I've journaled since getting sober.
Meetings I got to, topics, if I talk/what I say
Books I'm reading
Articles from online
Emails from friends
ANYTHING that impacts my state of sobriety, (positive or negative)
Health and well being

I review my journaling with my therapist. Not necessarily everything but what I want to share with him. I've found it to be a pretty valuable tool.

Not for me to say, but somebody needs to learn about respecting boundaries. Reading your journal behind your back, not to mention using what you've written against you, is sneaky and mean-spirited.

jobei

I like to write stuff down about recovery so that I can look back on it and be reminded of what I've gone through... helps to keep the drink away! If security is a problem you can always do it on the computer and password protect it.

stillsleeping

Hia

I like blogging, and did every day when I first cleaned up. I can definitely recommend it, there's something really cathartic about forgetting whether anyone's going to find your diary and whacking it up there where everyone can read it.

coming_clean

Without my journals I would be dead now.

flutter

I wrote a lot early on in my recovery with the help and guidance of my counselor. He guided me in what to think about and write (topics, etc), and we'd address any junk that would come up that affected me.. a lot of stuff I thought I had long buried came out in those writings and it was really helpful to have him to help me work through how it made me feel.