So a new year has started and no doubt many New Year\u2019s resolutions are in the process right now (or in the very near future) of being broken. There is something about the beginning of a new year (and in this case the start of a new decade) that lends itself to new beginnings. It made me reflect on what would be some of the most helpful things I believe that we can do to\u2026 well make a new beginning and let go of some of the stuff that has tortured us in the past.<\/p>\n
One thing that I often suggest in therapy and which, to my surprise, is rarely taken up by clients is journaling. There are several reasons why I believe that journaling can be a very powerful tool for self-transformation. First and foremost it is something I personally find very helpful in processing and problem solving challenging experiences. This is backed up by research studies, which have shown that writing about a difficult life event can increase our sense of well being and lowering physiological arousal. Why? Well, for one thing writing about something forces us to define it (the first step in structured problem solving). We need to \u201cname the beast\u201d in order for us to know what we\u2019re dealing with. All too often a problem or an uncomfortable emotion remain vague and our thinking seems to stop with \u201cthis is awful and I can\u2019t deal with it\u201d. This, of course, is bound to cause anxiety. Second, I believe that journaling makes us better at not only recognising emotions but also to name them. A surprising number of people find it difficult to name nuances of emotions. \u201cI feel bad\u201d do not tell me a lot. Is it bad-frustrated, -sad, -angry, -shameful, -rejected, -vulnerable, -defective? Third, writing in a journal about what is happening psychologically is in essence a mindfulness exercise where we\u2019re forced to pay attention to what is happening to us and (hopefully) write it down in an accepting, non-judgmental way. This is especially helpful if someone (and this is more common that you may think) have spent a good deal of his or her life avoiding feeling powerful emotions. Finally, I believe that journaling can provide a nice \u201cbridge\u201d between the therapy sessions and life on \u201cthe outside\u201d.<\/p>\n
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So for those of you who want to try this here are a few hints:<\/p>\n
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So, come on\u2026why not give it a go?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So a new year has started and no doubt many New Year\u2019s resolutions are in the process right now (or in the very near future) of being broken. There is something about the beginning of a new year (and in … Continue reading