Email was never an option in my therapy. I journaled if my mind was full. I kept my mind occupied with other mind-intensive activities like word puzzles or reading a book. I cleaned or went to a bookstore. I learned that the urge to contact would pass if I gave it time, particularly if I got busy doing something else.

If I needed to talk to my therapist, it was going to require a direct phone call. I'm grateful for that because I knew if I made that call, I better have a darned good reason to pick up that phone. Otherwise, I knew I had to find other ways to cope until that urge passed. The upside to it was that my therapist knew if I did call, I had exhausted my own techniques and/or it was a matter of true seriousness that really required his immediate attention or support.

One of the problems with texting and emailing is that it can (not always) for some people keep them from taking the time to discover their own healthy coping mechanisms for issues that aren't emergent. Technology for some = instant gratification. Sometimes in life, delaying gratification can really be a positive and empowering learning tool.

My therapist was of two minds about journaling by the way. For some people, journaling is a healthy way to get things out of their mind and onto the page. For others, it can spiral them into their thinking and make those thoughts even more obsessive. Journaling works for me, but if my husband journals it makes him feel worse. He's better off finding a distraction to completely stop his thinking (games, reading, walking, etc.) You have to know yourself.