Journal Speak..

Question:

When we do this program and continue bringing up shit and all our dark thoughts over and over , which of course is all conscious ...we will never get to the unconscious EVER, as Dr Sarno says.

With that said ....aren’t we just digging those pathways deeper and deeper and not building new ones. As Monte H says think clean!!!! . I find Journal Speak as its good points, but counter productive eventually.

Would like to hear people’s opinion.

 

I think journaling is a kind of exposure therapy. Doctor Sarno theorized that our tms symptoms were created by our mind to distract us from all those unpleasant suppressed emotion in our unconscious mind. Journaling help desensitize our mind to those unpleasant emotions. We search our memory and try to bring up all those negative events in our past, events that we think would create negative and unpleasant emotions. We suppose to re-live those events again and again while telling our mind that we are in a safer place/situation now. Those event won't happen again or we're not afraid of them anymore. We are wiser, smarter, and stronger now. We can deal with it, we can handle it now. For some events, all we can do is telling our mind that it is in the past. Forget, forgive, and move on. It is like spilt milk, it is gone now. We don't have to worry or afraid of it anymore.
If those events can not bother you anymore in your conscious mind then very likely it won't bother you anymore in your unconscious mind. If can you tell yourself you don't have to be afraid of that bully years ago in high school then your unconscious mind won't count that event/memory/emotion as some thing your mind need to be distract from anymore. Keep doing that and eventually we will be able to desensitize your mind from many un-wanted thought and emotions. Your perception has changed in your conscious mind but your unconscious mind got stuck in that "child" mind. You need to educate it and teach it to be strong and tough. to be kind and forgiving.

 

This is helpful, @balto, thank you. I've always liked journaling, in fact I've just ordered the Nicole Sachs's book, but I've had the same concerns as @Boston Redsox in that I have been concerned that I'm merely perpetuating and strengthening the emotions and that got me into the TMS symptoms in the first place. I like the emphasis you put on reassuring ourselves that even though we are revisiting the emotions temporarily, that we are secure and don't have to be afraid now and it is safe to let the unpleasant energies go and move on.

 

I read it when it first came out it’s her story and basically she goes threw how to JS it pretty good ...

 

The various writing exercise have all been extremely helpful to me, in my initial recovery, and now, when I experience setbacks. I often uncover a small incident which my unconscious brain is harboring and repressing, and just getting it out in the open, and being able to say "oh good grief, that's not worth repressing - that's totally normal, and not scary, and it's okay to have those feelings" can give me relief. Lately, this has not been enough, I think due to age and world stresses, so I need to do something deeper. MatthewNJ has convinced me to read Eckhart Tolle. I'll let you all know how that goes.

That being said, I think that @Nicole J. Sachs LCSW is brilliant, both for her insights and for her ability to explain them. I highly recommend this thread that our wonderful Marcia (@MWsunin12 ) posted today, and if you like it, and want to continue to refer to it in other posts, please post our thread, rather than the direct link, to include Marcia's intro. As she said, this is well worth your time:
https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/please-listen-to-this-for-a-boost-and-clarity.20711/ (Please listen to this for a boost and clarity.)