I always write so it's like second nature. I rarely even read over what I've written. At times a poem will form so I'll put that in another journal. Then I will reread and rewrite. The process of going from journal free writing to making it a poem actually processes even more.

Since I'm so verbal, my current therapist suggested I draw instead. Not necessarily actual pictures, but just abstract shapes and colors. I kept a drawing journal that I would bring into session for some of the time we were working together.

The point is that it accessed non-verbal emotions and things that were difficult or overwhelming to express or process. There was a sense of both release and containment in the fast, loose drawings I made.

He also suggests getting into my body to ground myself and get out of my head. This has a different effect. It basically changes the channel and breaks up any dissociative tendency.

These techniques worked though I haven't used them in a while. I've managed to get to a place where I'm able to process things myself or with him and feel them and accept them as they are happening. I find this way of "radical acceptance" which I couldn't do before or even imagine now is the best way to handle things for me.