We have all had times when we are very upset about something or someone. We can't stop thinking about the situation. It makes it difficult to get anything else done. It can be impossible to relax. It can consume our every moment for protracted periods of time. So, what can we do to work through it?
Talking to someone about how we feel, or just hanging out and thinking about it is definitely useful. But stream of thought journaling is different. Thoughts that we are having when upset are constantly flowing through our brain. Sometimes this happens very quickly. We might remember the basic content of these thoughts. But, it is usually hard to remember the fine detail of them. Sometimes this can make it harder to work through a problem or situation, even though we are spending so much time thinking and speaking our feelings. Some of us find it hard to talk to others. Sometimes the people in our lives are busy and can't talk when we need to. And sometimes when we have had the same conversation with someone about the same problem, they may get upset that we aren't being respectful of their time and resources.
One way to work around these challenges to processing our feelings is called stream of thought journaling. When we write our thoughts down, all of them, word for word, we then have an opportunity to not only get them all out, but also to go back and read them over in fine detail. When we are only thinking things through, we may remember the basic content, but the exact detail of our thoughts is gone and we are sometimes left feeling as confused as before.
Another consideration when journaling is that it is very human to edit our thoughts when we share them with others. So that can be a barrier to being fully honest with ourselves and in our writing. So for this exercise you will not be sharing your written thoughts with others. I recommend that you shred them at the end of the exercise. You will not use electronic devices to write because a computer file can be accessed even after deleted. You will want to pull out real paper and pen and then get to work on working it out. Some recommend journaling daily and this is a great habit to have. That might be a different kind of journal than one that you'd turn to when you don't know where else to turn. This is different. This type of journaling is for when you are in or near a crisis and your mind is spinning anyway. So you may as well stop spinning and sit down and write.
Write, write and write some more until you feel like every word is out. If something else pops in to your mind, add that too. When you are completely done and it is all out on paper, go back and read it over one, two, three, four, maybe even five times. Keep reading and keep analyzing what you wrote. Make notes in the margins. Often what will happen is that you will suddenly have lightbulb moments. You will make new connections, see new patterns, and solve problems like you have not been able to before because you have been able to really dive into the fine details of your thoughts. These insights can help guide you towards a fuller, happier, healthier life. Rather than continuing to struggle with the same issues over and over year after year, finally you are moving forward. Finally solutions are in front of you like they have never been before. This is when you grow and change. This is how things can get better.
UPDATE! 12/5/22 Mel Robbins did a great podcast today and they discussed journaling like this! It was a great episode and I highly encourage you to check it out Episode 19: The Mel Robbins Podcast "You’ll Never Be Truly Happy Until You Start Doing This"
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