Recovery Journal Writing
By Kevin Leapley, MA, LPC, CSAT on Sunday, March 1st, 2015 in Sexual Addiction. No Comments
Divide the notebook into these five sections: Childhood Experiences (birth to age twelve), Adolescent Experiences (age thirteen to seventeen), Current Life (from the start of your journal and going forward), Recovery Exercises, and Future Plans.
In the Childhood section, record your memories and feelings about your psychotraumatic experiences. Record your positive memories and experiences here as well—particularly, those that recall people who cared for you.
In the Adolescent section do the same, but also include the things that you did that were self-harmful, dangerous, or illegal.
In the current life section, keep a diary of the work you are doing to get your life more balanced. Identify what you are dong that is positive. What’s working for you? What are the healthy things that are making you feel better about yourself and your life?
In the Recovery Exercises section, record your answers to the “Recovery Exercises.”
In the Future Plans section, sketch out the changes you would like to make in your life in such areas as career, schooling, people, where you live, your recreational interests, and your relationship with family and friends. You don’t have to write in each of these sections every time you write. Just write what feels appropriate.
Before you begin to write in your Recovery Journal, you need to thing though the following: Where and when will you feel safest writing? Where will you safely store your notebook to keep it secure and confidential? Is there anyone with whom you will want to share your writings? How many minutes per day will you spend writing in your Recovery Journal?
Expect the writing process to be slow and difficult. That’s how it should be. Years of repressed feelings emerge slowly from their poisonous repose. Patience and encouragement are needed.
In order to encourage your thoughts to flow, you need to suspend all critical self-judgment. Avoid abusing yourself. Don’t tell yourself, “I can’t write. I can’t spell. I don’t know the right grammar.” If you can talk, you can write. Simply write the way you talk. Tell yourself that whatever you write is good because it comes from inside you. Your writings are your personal experiences. You are writing to free yourself from the grip of your painful emotions, not to create a best-seller. Your only objective is to express what you have been repressing in your own words.
*Handout at workshop that I attended many years ago (unknown author)
Kevin Leapley, MA, LPC, CSAT
Latest posts by Kevin Leapley, MA, LPC, CSAT (see all)
- Relationship Panic & Attachment - September 18, 2018
- Anger Management Coping - January 22, 2017
- How Do People Behave In Anger - December 31, 2016
- Anger Management Distortions: Overgeneralization - December 3, 2016
- Two Basic Traits That Help Relationships Last - November 22, 2016