Day 6 - Journaling difficulty?

So I tried journaling one of the topics I wrote down on a previous thread. I wasn't able to re-live the moment. Instead it felt like I was logically remembering facts. I tried looking at some other memories as well but kind of the same thing.

Any tips on journaling?

I think with some of them I stopped being angry a while ago as it wasn't very productive. It seemed like the anger was just getting in the way of me getting what needed to be done, done. If I've lived the anger in the past what is the point of bringing it back up again?

 

I love your screen name by the way. You pretty much answered your own question with that last sentence. Journaling did not help me, not saying it doesn't work. But for me continuing to bring up the past does nothing. You either have to forgive or let it go (the f**k it method). You cannot change the past so why dwell on it.

What you can change is your future and present. You have to look at how you perceive life. Many tmsers are trying to do this and that, to relieve there anxiety and hide fear. As the great Carl Jung said nothing inhibits feeling like thinking. You can't always think and force your way into emotions.

Sarno says the emotions are unconscious and you may never find what repressing. That's OK you will still heal. See yourself as healed and go live your life. Its a fun world out there, its just a matter of how you perceive it. I saw a quote today that might help you, but don't know who said it,
"You find it offensive.
I find it funny...

That's why I'm happier than you."

Ryan

 

For me, journaling about the past is about finding triggers and patterns that are effecting the present. I can better understand why a particular current minor episode has sent me into a tailspin of TMS, anxiety, and depression if I understand how the past is still effecting my present. Journaling has helped me find patterns and personality traits that inform my thinking and impact negatively on my present experience. Then I'm able to work on changing these dysfunctional thinking and behavioral patterns.

So my suggestion for journaling is use it to find a link between the past and what is effecting you in the present.

 

I guess I'm still confused as I feel like I am relatively aware of where my frustrations and insecurities came from. I have been aware of them for many years. But they are still here and still bother me on a daily basis. What am I missing?

 

There is much discussion and debate on this topic on this Forum. Some people believe that TMS recovery can be found by merely connecting the symptoms to psychological issues (thinking psychologically). Some people believe that one needs to dig deeper and become aware of the specific psychological issues, their origins, and how they are triggered by current stress. Journaling (expressive writing) is a common method to accomplish this. Still others believe one must take the awareness of their specific psychological issues, triggers, thinking and behavior patterns, and then work to change these established patterns of responding to stress and other triggers.

I guess I fall into the latter camp, though I have realized some recovery from TMS at each stage along the spectrum. But I wasn't able to get to 100% relief from TMS symptoms until I worked on actually changing my dysfunctional thinking and behavior patterns. This is an ongoing work in progress, as I still have some problems with TMS equivalents.

I suppose this is just the individualized nature of TMS recovery, with each person needing to find the strategies that work best for them. Fortunately, many of those who have recovered, and many dedicated professionals, have willingly shared the strategies that have worked best for them. We have a abundance of riches to draw from. I think finding an approach that resonates with you, and then keeping at it in a persistent manner, is what seems to reap the most rewards.

 

Hi, Freedom. I agree with the others, especially Ellen who said a recent experience triggered a past repressed emotion she had to deal with. In my case, very close friends divorced and it triggered my repressed feelings of abandonment and insecurity from my parents divorcing when I was seven. I had felt like a part of my friends' family with their three kids, and when that ended, I felt the same feelings of loss when my parents divorced.

Maybe give some thought to recent events in your life and see if they don't ring a bell from your past.