Engage both sides of your brain

There is one writing technique that deserves a column of its own, and that is putting the pen or pencil in your non-dominant hand. When I first say that, people look at me funny. They say something like, ‘It’s hard to write that way and defeats the purpose of trying to get your emotions down on paper.’

But the purpose of therapeutic journaling is to help you understand how to look at life in new ways. If writing with the wrong hand is too hard at first, start out by doing other things that you don't normally do with your non-dominant hand. Brushing your teeth, eating lunch, dialing the telephone, flipping a coin, etc... By exercising both hands you are giving the opposite side of your brain a chance to perform. A right-handed person will always be using the left side of their brain and the other side will never get a chance to learn how to do certain activities. Allowing the non-dominate side of the brain to do activities it doesn't normally do will quickly create all sorts of new associations in that part of the mind. This is an easy exercise, and it has excellent results.

And so it is with journaling, it is an opportunity to find talents, joys and sorrows that were deeply covered over by the habits of a lifetime. Give yourself permission to go inside. You may be surprised by what you find if you open yourselves to the process.

Remember to trust your instincts too. At first, you may find that writing makes you feel worse, but do not get caught in a spiral of self-pity. If writing does not provide benefits or solutions, seek guidance from a doctor or professional counselor. Journaling is not a substitute for medical treatment. It is a method of self-help that has helped many people in a wide variety of situations.

In future posts, I will explore other writing methods.

Writing is a Great Way to Disengage

The first research studies in the 1980s showed that journaling about one’s deepest emotions had health benefits no one expected to find. Later studies questioned the writing process. How could expressive writing work so well? The researchers began to focus on “content” analysis. They evaluated the essays participants wrote, looking for the use of insight words, causal words and words associated with cognitive activity and found these types of words correlated with health benefits. The people who expressed more positive emotion (relative to negative emotion) enjoyed the greatest health benefits. Finding something good to write about, even when recalling negative experiences, helped people disengage from the trauma.

Here are a few writing techniques that help put distance or a new perspective on a difficult experience:

• Third-person point of view instead of “I said” change to “He said…she said.”
• Second-person point of view, “You said…”
• Humor/Satire, no one will read it, so let the jokes fly.
• Role Playing (take someone else’s part)

In future posts, I will explore more writing methods.

Pencil Experiments

Using a variety of writing techniques will make journaling more interesting and revealing. Here are four writing methods that can help you get at the heart of a matter:

• Write a fan letter to yourself. People often are more considerate of others than they are to themselves. Take the time to nurture yourself and appreciate all your accomplishments. You have been braver than you realized. Though you were scared you managed to do wonderful things for yourself and others. You do not need to mail the letter to obtain the health benefits of writing, but this time consider actually mailing the letter. When you open the envelope, it can reinforce a sense of accomplishment.
• Rapid writing or stream of consciousness is meant to capture whatever bubbles up from the subconscious mind. Start writing about your favorite color or time of the year and then follow the connections wherever they take you.
• Consider writing play dialogue, using the present tense. It will amaze you how the dramatic format taps into feelings. Step into character. Create or recreate a conflict and then resolve it. This may help you find the emotions that lurk just below the surface.
• Or create a self dialogue between the inner and outer person. Let your inner self tell higher intelligence anything that needs to be said.

In future posts, I will explore other writing methods designed to help you relieve stress and create a better sense of awareness.