Journaling as Therapy - Getting to Know Yourself
Journaling as Self Discovery
By Just Loves Books, published Jun 28, 2006
Published Content: 105 Total Views: 386,854 Favorited By: 21 CPs
Mary sought help with a therapist because of continuing anxiety. She had a difficult time pinpointing the things that produced her feelings of nervousness. She just knew she seemed progressively less able to cope with her daily life. Her therapy was helping but she felt she could go deeper than an hourly session could permit, and on expressing this to her therapist, she suggested journaling. Mary told the therapist she had attempted journaling in the past, but had never been very successful at it. The therapist, after further questioning, learned that Mary’s fear was not “doing it right.” Mary told the therapist she had repeatedly purchased expensive leather journals, only to stare at the blank page and not know what to write that would be important enough to “mess up the clean page.”
There is no “right way” to journal. The journaling experience can be as unique as the person doing it. It can also be adapted to suit the individual’s needs. Buying an expensive journal is not necessary. In fact, most therapists report better results when their patients use an ordinary spiral notebook or legal pad, at least in the beginning. This reduces performance anxiety of having to write something profound. One therapist advised her client to write on the first page of her notebook, in large letters, “There is no RIGHT way to do this!”
Journaling as Therapy - Getting to Know Yourself
Using colored pencils in journal writing is a good way to express different emotions- red for angry, black for depression, etc.
Credit: bigfoto.com
Copyright: bigfoto.com
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Takeaways
- There is no right way to journal.
- Many people have better success with a spiral notebook than an expensive journal.
- The two week point seems to be the magic point when journaling takes on a life of its own.
Did You Know?
Journaling is the most widely suggested tool recommended by counselors to supplement therapy.
Resources
- Journaling Prompts
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