Posted by Tabitha on February 4, 2003, at 1:11:37
In reply to Journaling--Does it help?, posted by Miller on February 3, 2003, at 21:28:36
Hi Miller, I've been journaling since '91. (Gosh that makes me feel old to realize it's been so long) I usually just use it to vent my obsessions and pain, which is easy enough because there's so much of both. It's a great outlet between therapy sessions. I also make a point to write if I'm having particularly happy thoughts, or some kind of new healthy thinking, just so there's a record for the next time I'm hopeless. It's also good to have to look back on, to see that confused as I am now, I was worse a year ago. The improvement is so slow I might not believe it otherwise. It's also valuable to see my mood cycles, which are pretty slow, but obvious in my old journals.
Here's my advice about starting: don't get too fancy a notebook or you'll feel obligated to write something worthy (who needs that pressure). Just do stream-of-conciousness writing, don't plan or edit or judge. Draw pictures too if you want. Use colored pens to make it fun. Don't re-read what you've written for a long time (helps avoid judging. I only re-read once or twice a year). Put the date (and year) in there every so often. When you've filled up a notebook, throw it in a box and buy another.
Some good books: "Writing Down the Bones" and "The Artist's Way".
poster:Tabitha
thread:2463
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030203/msgs/2472.html