It has been a long time since I have made time to write. I have been walking quite the journey over the past two years and I haven't taken the time to process it all. So, last night I made myself a cup of tea and sat with my journal - it has been a long time. I turned to a blank page and it just stares at you sometimes, you have so much to write but you don't know where to begin or how to start. When I teach my journaling workshops I always ask the group to start with the date. It is always a good place to start. So with the date in the top right corner, the words began to flow. Finally after four pages I felt like I had made a good start. There has been a lot going on and my heart needs a lot of healing. I have always found writing to be a form of healing for me. When I wrote my book it caused me to deal with a lot of issues from my past so that I was free to move forward in my life. With all that is going on with the COVID-19 I have been found myself coaching people again. One of the main things that I tell people is that they need to start writing about this experience. As we write it is incredible to see the awakenings and healing that can emerge. I have always felt that my life experiences and character building exercises are for me to share. As with my book and my journey over the past two years, I heal by writing and sharing. And hopefully through my sharing I can help others on their journeys. Do you know that in individuals who have experienced a traumatic or extremely stressful event, expressive writing can have a significant healing effect. In fact, participants in a study who wrote about their most traumatic experiences for 15 minutes, four days in a row, experienced better health outcomes up to four months later Overall, writing as therapy has proven effective for many different conditions or mental illnesses, including:
Don't know how to start? Write the date and see where you go from there. Follow the five steps to WRITE:
Finally, keep the following in mind while you are journaling:
Find a notebook and just start writing. It's where you will find me - and I will be blogging more over the coming weeks as well. I have a lot to work through - it's time to start the healing.
2 Comments
Amber
4/23/2020 06:09:12 pm
This is inspiring! I used to write and journal a lot and these last few years I haven't, as I have been struggling with some things. This inspires me to begin writing again. Thank you!
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Carolyn Carleton
4/24/2020 10:24:20 am
Thanks Amber! I will be posting more journaling help in the next few days. Keep checking back and open that journal and start writing. 🙂
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