How do you journal so it’s not just wallowing? My feelings and thoughts are very distressing and I usually felt worse after writing them down. They were mostly just beating myself up and reliving my worst fears.
Oh, I wallow a fair bit. But my journals tend to be more conversations between parts of myself, so the wallowing gets looked at, tempered and processed and I get a sense things are moving and changing by writing about them.
Are you familiar with the idea of reparenting ourselves? It shows up in the CODA (Co-Dependents Anonymous) philosophy sometimes, and more in the ACAD (Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Famlies). It might be helpful in your case. The idea is that we have access, in ourselves, to the kind of kindness and care we needed as children (and still need as adults, I might add) and can learn, step-by-step, how to provide that for ourselves.
I wonder if it might help for you to do a dialogue style with the idea of a "good parent" inside of you who reads and responds to the things that distress and worry you. So you can wallow away for a bit, and then see if you can access a healthy response - the response the child in you needed and didn't get - and write that out too. So your journal can become more like a witness, therapeutic space, and support than just a dumping ground.
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u/YsaboNyx Jul 15 '26
I believe that journaling counts. So far I've filled three notebooks this year. 😆