Journals

It seems to me that those who live with Self Harm, addiction or Mental Health are some of the most creative people I know. Maybe due to life experience, maybe due to introspection, maybe due to their unique view of the world.

I have always kept journals and diarys, some date back to when I was 16. Most reflect where my mind was at any given time, some so black, some with hope, some I look at and think 'my God, did I write that' , some with sketches, some with poetry,but it is my nature to write.

I recommend writing, scrapping,painting, doodling to work through things, but also with caution. Sometimes when we write where we are at, it can be pages of negative thoughts & images, of ourselves and the world. If you constantly go back and read these, you are reinforcing a negative view. Those I have written like this and I can be my worst enemy, I now write often just on a scrap of paper and I put awayin my 'black folder' (symbolic eh), never to be read again. Those thoughts are valid at the time, and I need to get them out but I consiously dont fill my head with them.

I keep a positive journal, I fill it with scraps I find in magazines, quotes from on-line, compliments people have given me. This can be as simple as someone saying 'I like your shirt' gradually and often slowly I fill each book. Ive even asked those close to me to write something positive in it.

Your blog can be an online journal but again caution. Others may read it and reinforce a negative view. Some may read it whom you dont intend, work colleagues, siblings, friends and take the wrong slant on it. Remember the net is a public domain.

If writing is not your forte, paint, draw, its not about being Michaelangelo this is purely for your expression. I did a quick search and here are some sites to get you started;

Soul Collage
Journals & Papers
Facing Us (has an online wellness book)