[pouria3]

Hi,

I dealt with depression after a harsh divorce. I realized I need to invest in my self-growth. I have been using Paralign lately to journal my thoughts, observe them and to connect with other anonymously.
Has anyone used anything similar? The app is really helping me

[Skeezyks]

Hello pouria3: I see this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral... from the Skeezyks! I hope you find whatever amount of time you spend here to be of benefit. (I'm not familiar with Paralign.)

[LiteraryLark]

I'm not big on online journaling. If I have questions or need support, I turn here. PC has helped me tremendously where I believe if I had a online journal, very few will read it let alone comment. I have a blog here as well and I have no idea if anyone has read it and after over a month no one has commented on it.

I prefer pen and paper. I get out the thoughts I don't want to share with others and it is more therapeutic than simply typing because it takes more effort to write and compose my thoughts than if I simply came here and wrote a page worth of venting and then oops, I say something offensive or I realize I didn't want outside opinions.

[eskielover]

Welcome to PC....I also have never heard of Paralign. I have actually been here at PC since October of 2004 right before going through a horrible trauma when my mom was dying of cancer & the PTSD that followed on top of a bad marriage of almost 30 years at that time.

I can relate to after the divorce ( or in my case, permanent separation until I can afford the divorce) time for self growth.

I got my degree & had a successful computer design engineering career for 15 years after getting my degree, the last 13 years in the marriage were hell without my career to hide away at.

I was the one that was finally able to escape after my mom died & I moved 2100 miles away to where I didn't know anyone. It's been a wonderful growing time for me on my little 10 acre farm. I got in with a wonderful psychologist &DBT group. I have met & am now surrounded by the most wonderful people & have a support network that goes beyond anything I ever experienced my whole life.

I wondered how I could have had such a bad marriage for so long & even a bad relationship with my parents before that & then end up having such a wonderful life alone & then having wonderful friends. I Came to understand how dysfunctional everyone I had been around actually was & how dysfunctional I had become living around them. I did more research & I found out exactly what I had been dealing with & integrating that past with my present in therapy with a wonderful psychologist & a great DBT group & leader, it's been a wonderful experience. I love knowing who I am without it being who I am reacting to bad behavior of someone else.

I hope that you get the chance to truly grow at this point after your divorce. I'm still NOT divorced after 9 years. I haven't had the money to finish paying for what I got started. There are other higher priorities for the money I do have. My H is about the most financially irresponsible person alive & add ASD with the inability to communicate or emotionally connect.....he has no money to pay for a divorce from his end. The only reason I REALLY NEED a divorce is to protect me financially from his irresponsible behavior. I have absolutely no interest in dating or ever getting married again at this point in my life.

Life can be really wonderful after a bad marriage or even just a bad divorce. Having time to really learn who we are & what we truly value in life away from them is a wonderful growth process.

Hope you find PC to be a good place to continue your growth. There is actually a forum here that is specifically for divorce & separation (under Relationships & communication) you might find helpful also.

Originally Posted by LiteraryLark

I'm not big on online journaling. If I have questions or need support, I turn here. PC has helped me tremendously where I believe if I had a online journal, very few will read it let alone comment. I have a blog here as well and I have no idea if anyone has read it and after over a month no one has commented on it.

I prefer pen and paper. I get out the thoughts I don't want to share with others and it is more therapeutic than simply typing because it takes more effort to write and compose my thoughts than if I simply came here and wrote a page worth of venting and then oops, I say something offensive or I realize I didn't want outside opinions.

i'm the same way.

i've been journalling on and off since 2010, and always using a print journal

about if it helps me... not really, i don't think.

it did when i first started (because i used to talk to my journal like a friend), but soon it just got so boring going over the same old ground and writing the same old stuff

recently i've only been doing it when their's something worth mentioning (which is hardly often)
the day i chose to join here was probably the best thing i've ever decided to do in my life

[Artchic528]

I have an old fashioned anologue journal. The kind you physically write in with an actual pen. I love watching the pages fill up and it helps me to write down what I can't tell anyone so I don't keep it bottled up inside.

I got my current journal at a Walgreens, and it's my favorite color, purple. I even have a pen in the same hue of purple that I use to write in it. I love when a journal and pen match.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Journaling of any kind can be very therapeutic, but be careful in that it doesn't wind yiu down into a fit of depression. In my own case i found myself so wrapped jp in writing about the negative that it risked my emotional health. Draw up rules and boundaries for yourself - a contract persay. Make sure you at least write about as much positive as the negative.

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

I used to journal online, but haven't done that in a long time. Helped me at times though. Good luck.