Healthy + Well writer: Brie Grossman
Image via Wix
Detachment and depersonalization are the instinctive human antidotes for when we experience ‘the uncomfortable’. When pitted with regret, embarrassment, overthinking, anxiety, fear - really any inundation of emotions, we subconsciously shut-down as a means of coping. Yet, these emotions are inherently generated by our interaction with the external environment. To deny ourselves permission to feel is to remove the human aspect of living; without emotions, life becomes a series of patterns and mindless motions. A thoughtless existence.
Journaling discourages this detachment and develops the foundation for empathy! A self-reflection that distinctifies our conditioned response from a rational behavior. Writing allows us to observe emotions as if they are not ours, to question their triggers, origins, and legitimacy.
Each journal entry is an opportunity for growth, a recrafting of psyche that, over time, ingrains acceptance. Dissecting these ‘negative’ or ‘bad’ emotions dissolves their power; opposed to repeatedly denying their existence. But humans are not single-purpose wind up dolls, there is no expectation to always dance and be merry. We inevitably will experience every aspect of life: the good, the bad, the ugly. Journaling permits us to feel this myriad of emotions, to explore how and why we feel this way.
So what exactly is it? And how do I start? Journaling is instruction-less.There is no format nor prompt: it is an rumination of how your day went and why you think so. A rumination of how thoughts and emotional reactions are linked to our sense of self. Itinerating your day and emotions produces an acute self awareness that becomes habitual. As someone who began writing at the end of each day in quarantine, I’ve noticed how quickly this analytical cognizance grew to characterize my constant mental state. Indubitably, journaling will transform how you approach affliction and the degree to which it affects you.
If humans practiced this self-awareness, acceptance, and empathy, our current reality would be unrecognizable. Journaling is ‘life homework’ and we all have missing assignments.
Comments