Journaling.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 415
Journaling.
I used to journal often a year or so ago about my feelings and thoughts and what not. I stopped writing for a while and today decided to start again and it actually really helps me see what I'm thinking and feeling written down on paper. Makes a lot more since than the thoughts just rattling around in my head.
Anyone else find that writing in a journal is helpful in your recovery?
Anyone else find that writing in a journal is helpful in your recovery?
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,466
I really had to force myself to journal, but I was so stuck in guilt and shame that someone here recommended it to me.
I tried it and it worked. I wrote all my feelings, mostly the negative ones, and they literally began to lose their power over me. It took most of a year to get it all out.
I tried it and it worked. I wrote all my feelings, mostly the negative ones, and they literally began to lose their power over me. It took most of a year to get it all out.
Self recovered Self discovered
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Toronto Canada
Posts: 5,148
You hear the word mindfulness around here a lot, often describing the practice of being actively aware of thoughts, of sensations, of how your body might be reacting to a stress situation. Sometimes it is a meditative practice of breath awareness that empties the noggin of destructive monkey chatter. Or it can be a directed awareness of the urge to drink.
I think journalling is another example of a mindful activity. It was very useful for me during my depression, it helped slow the barrage of destructive negative feelings. I didn't keep the journal, I destroyed the stuff after I had written it. For me, it was the directed focus on these thoughts that allowed me to process them and let my thinker deal with them and put them away. I think it is a good practice.
I think journalling is another example of a mindful activity. It was very useful for me during my depression, it helped slow the barrage of destructive negative feelings. I didn't keep the journal, I destroyed the stuff after I had written it. For me, it was the directed focus on these thoughts that allowed me to process them and let my thinker deal with them and put them away. I think it is a good practice.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: MI
Posts: 452
I write every time I have a problem, am bothered by something, or am not sure how to handle something - in other words, I journal often! I find that it is so helpful in working through things, in helping me adopt a healthy perspective on the issue, figure out the best course of action, figure out things about myself, and develop an increased sense of peace about the issue. In the book Mindful Recovery, the authors Thomas and Beverly Bien suggest taking this process to the next level by writing about your concern and then sitting back with it, literally asking for guidance from your HP (or the Spirit within) regarding the issue, and then writing what you sense is the response. I've tried this approach, and kind of like it.
xxxxx
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
