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Old Apr 24, 2014, 12:17 PM
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amandalouise amandalouise is offline
Wise Elder
 
Member Since: Mar 2009
Location: 8CS / NYS / USA
Posts: 9,171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ganymede00 View Post
I feel dumb for even posting this but here goes nothing. Since I haven't been able to find a therapist that I've clicked with, I've been managing whatever symptoms I have on my own. I've done a bit of self care here and there (and it has helped a bit) but the one thing I have such trouble with is starting and keeping a diary. I know it would help tremendously to just write down what I'm feeling but I don't know, I just feel foolish. I fear that, as an adult, the act of keeping a diary is immature and self indulgent. I know that's not true but I have some long standing issues (guilt, embarrassment) with expressing how I feel. How can I stop thinking and feeling this way? Are there any adults out there that keep a diary and if so, does it help?

If anyone has any advice or words of wisdom, I would greatly appreciate it.
Im sorry but we cant tell you how to stop feeling...how a person feels is not something others can say how to do, when to do it and such. and I know it doesnt feel good when something we do is making us feel a strong emotions. but having a thinking mind and emotions is what separates the human species from a majority of the species on earth. only the person having the feelings can do anything about those feelings.

I can tell you how I developed the habit and maintained the habit of a daily in your word diary, my word journal my wifes word blogging and my niece's word for it tweeting.

one example is a few years back my treatment providers and I were trying to figure out where/what my symptoms were...I had so many symptoms that are shared by many mental and physical health problems we couldnt just say this is this and heres what to do about it. it was a very lengthy diagnostic process of tests, treatments ruling this in ruling that out kind of process. my treatment providers needed to hear from me what my symptoms were, when they get activiated, what works and what doesnt work. my doctor asked me to keep a list of any symptoms, medication side effects/problems and whether something helps or not as we go along. that list started out with one word description.....pain, numbness, stiffness, chills,.....then as my doctor asked me questions I added those in...what kind of pain is it....

then the list expanded to
a stabbing pain
a hot needle like pain.

as I got more confident on my abilities to document my symptoms it just naturally expanded to using whole sentences ...

last night I had a quick stabbing pain, it was like someone had jabbed thousands of needles in my, prickly, numb and .....

keeping a journal on my children also evolved. At my baby shower I received a baby book. in baby books they have very small spaces to document one or two word phrases of your childrens milestones...birth weight, height, length, first tooth, first crawl, first standing, first walking, favorite foods, toys...

that was well and good for a starting point but I soon found just putting the date and age of my children when they reached these milestones was not enough for me. So I used a computer writing program similar to microsoft office to create my own version of a baby book for my children, with plenty of room to add photos, descriptions, details,....that baby book turned into a baby book with 200 pages and as I printed out the pages I put them in a binder. my children cant read yet but they love seeing the picture of the day their two mommies were in the delivery room and the picture when their two mommies brought them home. and I love hearing their words baby (pointing to the picture) me (pointing to their self.) and then read to them what I wrote about the day they were born.

journaling/ blogging/tweeting/texting (or in your words writing in a diary) is something that only you control, the best way to maintain it is to set one up in your own style based on what you want that journal/blog/tweeting/texting/diary to be like. some people go all fancy and create a book style like I did for my children, list style like I did for my treatment providers or essay style like I do for myself on my computer writing program. some people buy special peens, markers in various colors to do their writing in others type with a typewriter or computer....

today there are many different avenues for someone who wants to journal/blog/text/tweet/ or on your words diary. you just need to find the way that works for you, based on your own life, what you want it to be and how you want it to be done.
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