# Journals/Diaries



## Doc Rice (Dec 28, 2009)

Does anyone keep a diary/journal as a form of therapy? Does it help at all in the long run? Like after a year does it lose it's effectiveness?


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## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

I just started a journal recently. I don't just write about SA though but other things I'm thinking and feeling. I wouldn't say it really helps. It would probably help if I had a therapist to show it to or something. 

I guess thats why I decided to keep on, to have thoughts down to share with a future therapist. Other than that... I'm not sure why I do it.


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## fredbloggs02 (Dec 14, 2009)

I keep a video journal on youtube. It really helped me get things off my chest. Not only that but it reminds me how far I've come from the caveman, underground troggladite, hermitt I used to be. It clears my concience of all my current worries meaning if anything ever cropped up it would never get blown out of proportion so long as I talk about it afterwards.


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## fredbloggs02 (Dec 14, 2009)

There is a strong social anxiet following on youtube, some say 42,000...I've never seen evidence of that but I do suggest it as a good place to talk to people like yourselves. It's how I heard of this website in the first place.


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## Doc Rice (Dec 28, 2009)

fredbloggs02 said:


> There is a strong social anxiet following on youtube, some say 42,000...I've never seen evidence of that but I do suggest it as a good place to talk to people like yourselves. It's how I heard of this website in the first place.


I'd never have the guts to post a video on youtube, or even make a video for my private use. I like writing better, since I can express myself more easily. Are people generally accepting? I'm sure they are, since nobody searches for social anxiety on youtube to put people down, but I'd always have a fear of the people who don't post. I wonder keep wondering what they really think...


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## Delicate (May 23, 2008)

^ me either I commend you guys who do... I've seen some of the vlogs about SA on there and they're sort of comforting.

When I feel really overwhelmed I sometimes feel like I have to write, just freely, to get it off my chest... since other ways I use are not healthy... it helps somewhat. In recent months I got depression the worst I've ever dealt with and I did this free writing and then when I was feeling more stable after that "episode" I read through it and wrote again but more structured and more light hearted... I saved a few things I wrote but never showed them to anyone. It helped a lot to physically see... THIS is what you were feeling... but this is what you can do.

I am having to keep a journal for my therapist at the moment... kind of. It's really hard to do. It's about keeping track of certain behaviours and every day writing the context of what I feel in certain situations but there are times when I feel fine and I'm thinking I have to justify my issues and just write _something._ I hate doing it she reads through it in the session and it's embarassing. One thing she said which I think relates to your question is that the idea is that months down the line when I've improved I can look at those entrys from a distance and SEE the improvement. I think that'd be useful for any of us here.

I think if it helps you go for it and you're developing your writing skills in the mean time which is a bonus.


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## rachelynn (Sep 12, 2008)

I've been journaling since I was 8 years old and I write often. I don't know if it's a form of "therapy" for me, but sometimes I just don't understand how someone can NOT write about their life and thoughts.....I'd probably go crazy if I couldn't. Also having a journal is like some kind of a friend to me. And it could be soo late at night, when I should really be sleeping but sometimes I'm like, no, I have to write before I go to sleep!


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## Delicate (May 23, 2008)

^ that's great you have things documented now. A few family members of mine are/were big diary keepers and it's interesting for us relatives to see.

I used to be given diary's as presents and couldn't think of a word to write lol I never thought to write feelings or maybe just couldn't identify them.


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## Doc Rice (Dec 28, 2009)

Interesting. And do some of you write about events as well? I think I will add that to my pages of venting. This way in 30 years, I can say, "Oh yeah, that's when I ate my first cucumber." :teeth


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## leonardess (Jun 30, 2009)

I'm one of those who always thought of myself as a "literary" type, and every so often in a fit of erudition I'd go and buy myself a fancy little notebook in which to keep my "memoirs", write one entry, and then forget it. 

But lately, over the past 6 months or so, I've been writing in a journal regularly. I really do find it therapeutic, because I have so many thoughts and feelings whirling in chaos inside me and I find that if I slow down and write out all of that, it does help to release it. 

It doesn't have to be just narrative either. it can take the form of a conversation I wish I could have, or have had, but I can change it. or if I have something I want to say to someone, then I can write it down first, think about it before saying anything. sometimes I'll do pictures instead of words. sometimes it's diagrams. It can be anything you want. 

The best thing about it for me is that i can go back and read what I've written, and think more rationally about what I've written, and decide if i still feel that way. 

I'd recommend it to anyone.


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## rachelynn (Sep 12, 2008)

Yep I add events. I write about nearly everything, if I remember to write about it. I just write what I feel like and what I can, what I feel is most important to write down either my thoughts or something that happened during the day. I think there's always something to write about, because there's always something to think and something always goes on. Often sometimes I end up writing "I took a shower, I woke up at this time, I ate this......" lol but then I get more deep and serious too. That seems to be a norm for my journals though, I write down small seemingly unimportant things if I dont feel like being deep.


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## fredbloggs02 (Dec 14, 2009)

Most people on youtube are very accepting. There are a couple of other people on SAS that make youtube blogs. Spiffy, My Nodody and Irish all make social anxiety video diaries. The first one is near impossible to make but it just gets easier after that. This to me is proof that gradual exposure to something helps. 

It's the best feeling when you do get a negative comment like " uuhgh stop whinging" or something. It teaches you to just ignore and forget. I couldn't have done that when I first started, it took a desperate two days of intense depression to begin but luckily noone picked on what I'd said in the videos untill I got more confident.

If you have a problem with the way you look as I did, I reccomend talking about it on a video. When I was little I used to get schooled how to talk confidently. One of my teachers forcibly placed me infront of a mirror and no matter how much resistance I put up or how daft I felt talking to myself, she made me do it untill It came naturally. It's the same principle here I reckon.


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## Dying note (Mar 17, 2009)

leonardess said:


> I'm one of those who always thought of myself as a "literary" type, and every so often in a fit of erudition I'd go and buy myself a fancy little notebook in which to keep my "memoirs", write one entry, and then forget it.
> 
> But lately, over the past 6 months or so, I've been writing in a journal regularly. I really do find it therapeutic, because I have so many thoughts and feelings whirling in chaos inside me and I find that if I slow down and write out all of that, it does help to release it.
> 
> ...


I completely agree with you on this, you put it so perfectly  I used to write in my journal page after page every night, but it's been difficult these days to find the words or form sentences that actually express what's wrong (I just assume it's the depression getting worse), but in general, I don't know what I would do without having a journal to put my thoughts/ideas down in. It's been a life saver (for me). Some days SA is all I can talk about because it's the most pressing issue, other days it'll be something else, but I like having it written down to look back on months/years from then on. It has certainly helped me.


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## rachelynn (Sep 12, 2008)

About the youtube vlogging - I do think most people on there are accepting. I haven't really run into any major problems with anyone being mean or negative! I also make vlogs sometimes, but unfortunatley lately I've been scared of some people seeing them. :um I hope I can get over that or something someday because at times, making videos has been a good thing and I like doing it. 
Of course, not everyone can do it, and that's ok!  I can't believe that I did it. I started in August 2008, I think beacuse I was a bit lonely. It was hard at first, but its ok now. What's hard about it for me is actually talking sometimes and remembering what I was going to say, or if anyone around me in my house will hear me. I have to do it when Im alone. Even if I didn't post the videos, they are still neat to make at times because I actually talk out loud instead of staying silent.


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## Miss Meggie (Nov 19, 2009)

I keep a blog here on SAS. It's like a journal that I post frequently, with summaries of my day. I write about different events throughout my day (or weekend, group of days, etc.) and what my anxiety was like while facing the situation. I also try to write about what I used to push the anxiety away: coping statements, quotes and lyrics, etc. 
I feel that my blog has really had a great part in my recent successes as I work to overcome my anxiety. It also offers a way to look back over the last two months to see how far I've come; it inspires me and reminds me that I *can* get better.


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## leonardess (Jun 30, 2009)

^ I've found my blog useful for the same reasons, MM. I think you are spot on. I use it along with the journal. It's a secondary outlet. I've found that the more outlets I have for writing things down, the more the problems dissipate and the less they bother me later. 

I have my journal writing, the blog, and one or two people who understand that I can write emails to. It all helps.


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## pollster (Oct 4, 2009)

I've contemplated writing in a journal again, as a way of getting thoughts/feelings out, in the absence of talking about them in detail with an actual person (therapist or otherwise). I used to write in one when I was younger. Then I went through this phase of needing to get rid of them, and feeling almost embarrased having them around. Like it exposed me too much, and felt uncomfortable to have all my thoughts and feelings on paper for potentially anyone to read. (Not that anyone would, but the potential is/was there.) 

Anyone ever feel that?


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

I have written about nearly every day of my life since the late eighties. It is an excellent way to track progress and development, and to vent and problem-solve.

I keep a blog here and it's been even more helpful than a private diary because people can comment and provide another perspective. It has been excellent for problem-solving. In recent months I have been very slack with my diary and it's probably due to writing on forums.


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## mind_games (Nov 30, 2008)

I keep a journal type thing here. It's really good to put thoughts on paper and thus deal with any immediate thoughts that are swirling through my head. But I hate looking back on it; I suddenly lose interest and I find it a bit painful to read past entries as my mindset hasn't changed significantly since writing them.


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## leonardess (Jun 30, 2009)

^ keep writing. Eventually, with the awareness, I'd bet comes some change.


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## eejm (Jan 22, 2010)

I've kept a diary on and off since I was about 9. I've long felt that I have few people whom I can trust enough to share my problems with, and my diary has been a way of expressing my feelings to someone who will listen, in a manner of speaking. A diary is a good place to keep a secret (assuming it's kept in a secure place), and also a good record of your life. Sometimes I've been bothered that my diary is too negative when I'm re-reading some entries, but I try to keep in mind that this is a way to work out some anger and a frustration in a healthy way. I'm also something of a frustrated writer at heart, and I go through very "literary" periods from time to time, and the diary helps me fulfill that. I don't show it to anyone, and it calms me to write in it.


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## lde22 (Oct 19, 2009)

I write down my thoughts and stuff once in a while. I have a word file on my computer where I document where I am in life. It's really interesting to read about what I was thinking when I was 14, I noticed how angry I sounded. I mostly write this to remind myself in the future of how I was if that makes sense. Its kind of like documenting my experiences in life and my theories about life. The only time I really write in it though is when I get really high. I think of really strange things when I am stoned and always want to write it down, like crazy theories of reality and stuff. I sometimes fantasize that I will one day become really famous and that file will be found and made a book out of or something. Like how they write bibliographies of famous people with quotes from there diaries or like how Nostradamus wrote all those supposed predictions. That would be cool if that happened to me.

I also used to keep a diary of how I felt on paper but I pretty much stopped writing in it. That was when I was really depressed and would always write about how badly I wanted to slit my wrists and stuff and would be crying while I was writing. I think it helped in that instead of just sitting there thinking about how much I hated my life I was doing something to pass the time and it helped me go to sleep afterwords.


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