Keeping a Journal

[sadie]

H all,

Just wanted to thank whoever it was that suggested keeping a Journal...I know its only 02.01.04 but I already feel as if my mind is getting a good clear out at the end of the day. So far, I have had a few anxious moments which I have described what happened, how I felt, the symptoms that were present etc and Meg has also suggested that I should keep a food diary too. I think there is a lot to gain from doing this. Does anyone else feel the same?

I just feel as if I am actively doing something finally to cope with my anxiety...instead of just going round in circles all the time.

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks!


sadie

[uryjm]

I can't recommend keeping a diary highly enough. Your computer is a great place for it - you can password protect it so nobody else can read it, back it up to an internet site so you'll never ever lose it, scan or copy articles into it you find interesting, link to internet sites you've found useful (like some of the posts in this forum), add music, photos, quotes....I've got a Compaq Ipaq, one of those little handheld PC's which has a portable keyboard too, and I can literally jot into it any time any place. I can also read any of my previous entries from the past ten years and, even better, understand what I've written (my handwriting is awful)! My only regret about my dairy is that I didn't start it the day I learned to write.

Jim

[Meg]

Lucky and I chatted about it ages ago and Bryan has been really great at reminding people about it ever since.

There is an online site for one somewhere with all sorts of fancy gimmicks attached if you're that way inclined. It is certainly of great value but do free flow write as well as keeping it for an anxiety reference.

I do think that sitting at a 'putta is not our most comfy and welcoming for writing but it has come to be the norm.I used to be a sucker for buying fancy travel journals books to record in , but in reality they were pretty heavy and the stuff in them was not relevant.



Meg

Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...

[bananarbabe]

I just read in a book about anxiety that journal writing can strengthen your immune system. Who knew!

Chris

[Michaela]

Hi Sadie

Haven't had a chance to check the site out for a while over the holidays, but have just read your note about the journal. I started one at the beginning of December, and it's amazing how repetitive it is, but very therapeutic to remind yourself of the good days. I have started to mark my good days where I have been low or anxiety free with a so I feel encouraged, rather than just looking back at the dross I have written.

Hope you find it useful too.

Michaela

[sadie]

Hi Michaela,

Well Ive only started mine since Jan 1st and I can see what you mean already about repeating yourself a bit etc but I think this will be less prominent the better we get!!

This is what I include in my diary:

1. my thoughts that day
2. symptoms I may have had
3. what I had to eat that day
4. any medication I have taken..eg. paracetomol not SSRI meds
5. what I actually did today
6. what coping techniques I have used and how did they make me feel..relaxation etc.
7. ending with a positive statement for the day

I also wanted to do something to highlight the good days from the bad days so what I thought of doing is marking each day out of 10 and writing the number at the top of the page..1 being a good day and 10m being a bad day.

Does anyone think of anything else I could include in my journal or how I could mark a good day from a bad day??



sadie

[benoo5]

hi all,

can i just remind everyone,that another great suggestion from meg is....write down,wot youve eaten,that day..maybe theres a corrolation,between good/bad days,and food intake....bryan.

[uryjm]

Try and write about other things as well as the anxiety. I'm not sure it's good to remind yourself of the bad days, so keep it as positive as you can or note what you did to feel better when you were struggling. There is, after all, more to life than anxiety!

Jim