Introspection Overload Part 2: The Value of Not Journaling

Back in 2013, I wrote “Introspection Overload? The Value of Journaling” for Psych Central’s “World of Psychology Blog,” where I adamantly sang the praises of journaling to combat overthinking. To cathartically unleash thoughts and feelings and therapeutically decode them via the written word. Since I’ve kept journals by my side ever since I was a young girl, it only seemed plausible to turn to them when I was dealing with that brand of anxiety — the rumination, the reflections that go into “overdrive.” And that is exactly why nobody was more surprised than I when I stopped journaling altogether last year. You see, in moments of anxiety, I began to realize that journaling may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Writing down all my thoughts, with thorough dissection and analysis — until I felt comfortable — was counter-productive to my end goal. Instead of letting my thoughts disintegrate once my pen marked my paper, it only propelled them further along, giving life to other thoughts. We see the problematic pattern here, right? And so, I decided to go against my natural impulse to write it all down, which felt pretty strange since journaling had been a predominant habit of mine for so long. Instead, I mentally thwarted the thoughts away before they could fully take hold; a process I enjoy referring to as “mentally journaling.” (Yeah, I guess I didn’t lose the concept of “journaling” completely, heh!) There is surely so...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Anxiety and Panic Creativity Habits Personal Introspection Journaling Overthinking Panic Attacks Rumination Worry Source Type: blogs