This is an excerpt from a book I recently completed called Get We Get Better: 48 Treatment Options for Chronic Depression. Following the mental health journey of depression survivor Ruth, it offers numerous practical, evidence-based strategies for improving your physical, behavioral, vocational, relational, cognitive and emotional health. For updates and availability info, subscribe for free to the right. I post two or three articles per month, mostly on the topic of depression.
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Treatment option 39: Journaling
One of my clients told me that she’d never had a therapist who didn’t recommend journaling to her at least once. They were right to do so, I told her. Journaling isn’t just a filler exercise; it’s an evidence-based technique for regulating emotions. Writing about difficult feelings and experiences can bring a sense of calm, and it can produce cognitive shifts as well. When thoughts are written down, they’re more clearly seen and evaluated. This is why most cognitive therapies include written exercises.
While stream-of-consciousness journaling is an option and can be helpful, I prefer more structured approaches. Write a letter you don’t send to a person who has caused you harm, or write about difficult past experiences and what you’ve learned from them. Write about your personal strengths and things and people you’re grateful for. Or brainstorm solutions to challenges you’re currently facing.
The journaling technique I find most helpful is the one I described earlier in this book. When experiencing acute distress, put all of your worst thoughts on paper. Be as uncensored and as honest as you can be. Then choose a few of these thoughts–maybe the ones that feel most distressing or persistent–and challenge them. Are they accurate, or is there another side to the story? Come up with helpful reframes that you can use if the thought arises again in the future, and write them down. Finding new stories is a learned skill that gets easier with practice.
If desired, add “journaling” to your list of emotional coping skills.
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No gurus. No easy answers. Just real stories from people on the path. Get The Power of Acceptance: One Year of Mindfulness and Meditation at your preferred book retailer today.
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