How Journaling Can Help You!
Dear Friends and Patients;
I am working on a CD which will teach patients how to get the most out of journaling for depression, anxiety, and divorce recovery. Here’s a sneak peek!
The most basic and easiest to start is what I call stream- of- consciousness journaling. You have no rules here except you start writing and keep writing until you fill 3 pages, go 5 minutes, or whatever other boundary you want to set. If you want to keep going after you reach the boundary, you can, but you don’t have to. You don’t try to write on any particular topic, you just let your brain dump out on paper. If you keep your hand moving, even if you just make scribbles, your brain will express itself eventually. NO censoring yourself or your language.
Here’s an example of stream-of-consciousness journaling:
“OK. Debbie said to write, so I’m writing. This feels like a waste of time because I don’t know what to say. Hmm. Okay. Well, I’m feeling kinda bugged today but nothing is really wrong. Well, I guess SOMETHING is wrong if I feel bugged. Maybe it’s because my sister cancelled out on me for lunch again. You know, I didn’t tell her it bugged me, did I? I just let her cancel and said, Oh, that’s okay. But it’s NOT okay because she cancels so much. I feel like I’m last priority to her. Come to think of it, I feel like I’m last priority to everybody…wow. Maybe I should talk to Debbie about that. I’ll mark this entry in my journal and email it to her later. It’s hard to take the time to do this. It seems like I could get a lot more off my plate if I started on my to-do list instead, because I keep thinking of things I need to be doing. I’m really too busy to sit and write. Debbie says this is a way of taking care of myself, but I just don’t have time to take care of myself…huh. I put myself last a lot. I don’t think I’m worthy of my own time. Kinda like my sister doesn’t think I’m worthy of HER time. Maybe that’s the problem. If I don’t think I’m worthy of my time, why should anyone else? If I’m last priority to ME, why shouldn’t everyone see it the same way?”
To my current patients: thank you for your referrals! Your trust is very valuable to me and it’s an honor when someone calls and says you gave them my name.
I have a limited number of openings for new patients that I am creating for the fall. If you are ready to begin or resume YOUR journey, please call me at 972-672-1957 or email me at info@Rockwall-Counseling.com.