By Andrea Seydel Author of Saving You Is Killing Me: Loving Someone with an Addiction
Let It Out- A Journey Through Journaling to Gain Self-Awareness and Healing
It's tiring to act okay and be strong when in reality, you're close to the
edge of a breakdown, exhausted and depleted. When you love someone with an addiction, the level of stress, confusion and worry can be challenging. Gaining self-awareness and processing emotions and thoughts becomes essential for your well-being. Acknowledging and confronting difficult emotions allows for healing and brings about a sense of empowerment and the ability to cope with struggle positively. Journaling is a wonderful positive intervention that can help you build resilience.
Journaling is a beautiful tool that can help you become more self-aware. It not only enables you to process your emotions, but it's also like speaking and listening at the same time. Writing in a journal generally allows you to express thoughts, feelings, and what's going on around you in your life. It is a method to get the thoughts and feelings out of your head and onto paper to understand them more clearly. Journaling allows you to gain perspective. Many people confuse journaling with a diary. A diary is a book to record events that have happened. A journal is a book used to express emotions and write out thoughts and ideas. Journaling has been shown to ease stress and reduce anxiety and depression. One of the best benefits of journaling is that it allows us to gain more self-awareness by cutting through the mental clutter and providing insight. Journaling will enable you to organize your thoughts, process your emotions, and relieve stress. Self-reflection and self-awareness enhance your ability to honour your feelings, see your thoughts, and reflect on your values. Allow yourself to write freely. Use journaling as an excellent tool to identify things that might be going under the radar in your mind. Journaling is lovely because it's never judgmental, and it offers clarity and awareness while helping you with a direction in your life.
To get started with journaling, all you need is a pen and a notebook or journal. There are no rules or expectations associated with writing in your journal. You can start small and choose to do it at any time. Journaling was one of the most powerful things I did when dealing with my boyfriend in active addiction. Simply start writing, speak your truth, and allow things to flow naturally without any filter. You will be amazed by how things will just flow out of you. You can use your journal to record events or situations that you are presented with or pull out your journal when you have emotions or thoughts that you'd like to process. You can use your journal to process positive emotions and celebrate your wins, as well as express negative feelings and thoughts. Don't censor edit while you write. Let anything and everything come out, even if it's gibberish or horrible English. Remember, this journal is for your eyes only so that you can be sincere. There is no right way to journal. The key is to use journaling as a tool that will work best for you.
Here are some Journal Prompts for Self-Reflection and Self-Discovery:
• If I were a fly on the wall and could speak, what would I say?
• What is most challenging for me at this time is.
• Right now, I feel.
• What's going on for me right now is.
• What makes me happy is.
• If I knew I could not fail, I would.
• What I need to accept is.
• What makes me happy is.
• The last time I felt this way was.
• What's bugging me right now is.
• What do I need to let go of?
• Who do I admire and why?
• The things that I'm most concerned about are.
• My older version of myself would tell me.
• It makes sense that I'm feeling.
• What would make me feel better in the situation?
• To be honest, I would rather.
Journaling is a method of expressing and releasing thoughts and feelings. It is a powerful tool for healing that relieves the brain of holding all these experiences and allows you to release tension. As a result of journaling, you will feel better.
For further support: Do not hesitate to listen to the SYKM podcast or purchase the book
You can also reach out to Andrea Seydel herself at www.andreaseydel.com
Here is the SYKM Podcast link: http://apple.co/38p1OMU
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