Comments on: journaling for healing: 15 tips

By: isabella mori (@moritherapy)

isabella mori (@moritherapy) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:50:19 +0000

hi anne – thanks for leaving a comment. let’s make this clear: these are just suggestions! if journaling has worked for you so far, please don’t mess with it. please take what you like and leave the rest.

here’s a question that you might find interesting: what do you find useful in letting a few “experts” stimulate your guilt?

this is not a rhetorical question, by the way. it’s possible that in answering it, you might gain some insights.

now it’s my turn to ask, “what do you think?”

By: Anne Milner

Anne Milner — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:39:17 +0000

I found your “dos” and your first “don’t “helpful and supportive but then anxiety kicked in. Now I’ll be editing what I’m journalling as I go along. No whining or complaining. I’ll feel guilty if I do. The whole purpose of the journalling will be annulled. What are you thinking of?

By: journaling – what works for you?

journaling – what works for you? — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:45:35 +0000

[...] the journal writing process – a topic, as you may know, that interests me quite a bit – see journaling for healing, creative writing: waking up from our routines, women, therapy and blogging, journaling: a dialogue [...]

By: Guest Post: What Works for You? « Coming Out of the Trees (excerpts from my therapy journal)

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:00:55 +0000

[...] I might ask Marie whether she’s familiar with James Pennebaker’s and Louise de Salvo’s work on journaling – two people who can add wisdom to anyone engaged in [...]

By: John D

John D — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:49:40 +0000

Thanks for reprinting this. It’s a subject close to my heart. For a long time, writing in journals was the only thing that helped me deal with my feelings, esp depression and the only way I could keep going as a writer. I couldn’t agree more that writing about feelings is especially powerful – but for me that writing comes in the midst of a lot that doesn’t go that deeply. I tend to agree with Scott’s comment that writers write and can’t follow rules. (By writer I mean someone who by temperament writes about experience or anything else for that matter because that’s their natural bent. It has nothing to do with the profession or publication.) As I’ve mentioned before, there is a state of mind/feeling I get into while writing that in itself is healing – that’s part of my process. For a long time, however, I was seriously blocked in trying to express some of the deepest emotional turmoil. Blogging helped to get me past that last inner barrier. Also, at one point, Julia Cameron’s idea of morning pages was quite helpful – she emphasizes just doing the writing every day, not worrying about what its content is. I think the do’s and don’ts might work as guidance for those who are not so used to writing – that could be true also of the structured exercises I often see in the context of therapeutic writing. I need to learn more about the experimental studies to compare that data with my own experience. Thanks for reprinting this – it’s got me thinking – as your blog always does.

By: kristen

kristen — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:58:20 +0000

thanks, I’ll keep in touch.

By: isabella mori

isabella mori — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:40:01 +0000

yes, kristen, isn’t this an amazing book?

please stay in touch, and when your book is out, maybe i can write a review!

By: kristen

kristen — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:03:19 +0000

Dear Isabelle, I just finsihed reading Louise’s book and it was life-chaninging. So supportive and so logical. I just finished a memoir of time I spent in a religious cult in which I was sexually, physically and spiritually abused. Writing was an integral part of my healing. The book si called “Losing the Way” and will be out in June. (I hope you’ll check out my website. ) I’m giving a talk in June about this very subject at the International Cultic Studies Association annual conference.I really appreciate your website and all the valuable information you have here. It’s daunting but it’s great! keep up the good work. I look forward to reading more! kristen

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:39:13 +0000

Gotta say that I disagree with all of the don’ts and most of the do’s. The thing about journalling is that it needs to be free. There is a lot of value in just writing what comes into your head, without worrying about a list of “dos and don’ts.”

I’m a writer, and there are times when I am self-absorbed and overly intellectual, when I complain loudly and bitterly, when I explore my feelings and thoughts and when I use my writing for therapy.

I think the best advice about writing can be summed up as: “Just write.” There is no right way or wrong way to write, especially when writing something as personal and important as a journal. Just get a pen and some paper and write 3 pages a day of whatever comes into your head.

By: isabella mori

isabella mori — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:22:09 +0000

what “don’t's” would you suggest, gareth?