Set Me Free!!! Can Journaling Help Us Successfully Recover from A Domestic Violence Offense?

  Does Journaling Help Quell Domestic Violence – Type Thinking, Feeling and Behavior???

  The Fact is that for a lot of people, some of our thoughts and feelings, simply are not ready for Prime-Time.  At the same time, it is often very helpful for us to explore our thoughts and feelings and reason them out privately, for ourselves... before we act.

  Think about it: "What was going through my mind and my heart at the time just before and during my DV Offense?"

  What if I could have dealt with those pre-DV Offense thoughts and feelings without getting a Domestic Violence Charge?

  What would it be like if perhaps once a week, I sat down for a few minutes and I thought about some things and ideas that could help me to never again have DV-Troubles?  

  Could it help me to avoid DV in my future?  Probably so.

  And how could I grow past the person I was when I committed that DV Offense?  Perhaps it might help if I would periodically take a moment to consider the following about me and my situation.  (And It doesn't cost a penny to sit down and think about these things -- or even to write them down.  Yet this could yield very valuable results.)  These things to think about include the following:

   >>> My Good Changes & My Growth

   >>> My Wants & My Needs

   >>> My-Thinking and Re-Affirming My Goals

   >>> My New Insights / My New Knowledge

   >>> My New Sense of Confidence

   >>> My New Challenges

   >>> My New Skills & My Newly Discovered Strengths

   >>> My New Plans

   >>> My Supports (Old and New)

   >>> My New Hopes & My New Dreams

             >>> Positive Affirmations about myself. 

   >>> My Gratitude.  My New things, people and situations to be Thankful for.

  Just imagine what it might be like if once per week, I sat down and just took a moment to think about one or more of the items on the list above.  How might that process change me over time?  Could it maybe help me change for the better?

  I don't really have to think about all of the above all at one time.  It could be that like a puzzle, I could just place one piece per sitting -- and find some sense of accomplishment and esteem almost every time.

  At least I might start to feel more accomplished -- and that would be a wonderful thing.  I might also start feeling less stressed and more effective.

  

For example:

  In 2018, Intermountain Healing published an Article titled: "Writing To Better Health".  They suggested that people benefit from journaling in both Short-Term and Long-Term ways.  They say that Journaling:  

  "Reduces Stress. An overabundance of stress can be damaging to your physical, mental, and emotional health. It’s proven. Journaling is an incredible stress management tool, a good-for-you habit that lessens impact of physical stressors on your health. In fact, a study showed that expressive writing (like journaling) for only 15 to 20 minutes a day three to five times over the course of a four-month period was enough to lower blood pressure and improve liver functionality. Plus, writing about stressful experiences can help you manage them in a healthy way. Try establishing journaling as a pre-bedtime meditation habit to help you unwind and de-stress.

  Improves Immune Function. Believe it or not, expressive writing can strengthen your immunity and decrease your risk of illness. Those who journal boast improved immune system functioning (it strengthens immune cells!) as well as lessens symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Expressive writing has been shown to improve liver and lung function and combat certain diseases; it has even been reported to help the wounded heal faster.

  Keeps Memory Sharp. Journaling helps keep your brain in tip-top shape. Not only does it boost memory and comprehension, it also increases working memory capacity, which may reflect improved cognitive processing.

  Boosts Mood. Want more sunshine in your life? Try journaling. A unique social and behavior outcome of journaling is this: it can improve your mood and give you a greater sense of overall emotional well-being and happiness.

  Strengthens Emotional Functions. Related to mood is how journaling benefits overall emotional health: As journaling habits are developed, benefits become long-term, meaning that diarists become more in tune with their health by connecting with inner needs and desires. Journaling evokes mindfulness and helps writers remain present while keeping perspective. It presents an opportunity for emotional catharsis and helps the brain regulate emotions. It provides a greater sense of confidence and self-identity. Journaling can help in the management of personal adversity and change, and emphasize important patterns and growth in life.  Research even shows that expressive writing can help individuals develop more structured, adaptive, and integrated schemes about themselves, others, and the world. What’s more, journaling unlocks and engages right-brained creativity, which gives you access to your full brainpower. Truly, journaling fosters growth."

Question: "Have you ever had something you really wanted to say in a Relationship, but you just couldn't get to it?  How did that work out?"

I wonder how regular journaling could help with such challenges? 

    Sometimes, we don't really know what we want or need until we write it down.  Seeing it on paper, often has an effect on us. 

   Journaling can be accomplished in numerous forms: Writing a sentence or two per day; or Writing a song about how you feel; or Painting a picture that expresses how you feel or what you are thinking; Drawing a Map, or a Piece of Woodwork that has you in it; or even dictating an Email to yourself; Jotting down Experimental Notes in an Study; Marking notes in a Progress Report or Medical Chart; or even just jotting down a couple of words on an index card that you keep in your pocket or your purse.    

Journaling and Mental Health:

  The Health Encyclopedia by the University of Rochester Medical Center, writes about "Journaling for Mental Health" and they suggest the following: 

"One of the ways to deal with any overwhelming emotion is to find a healthy way to express yourself. This makes a journal a helpful tool in managing your mental health. Journaling can help you:

 >>> Manage anxiety

 >>> Reduce stress

 >>> Cope with depression

 

Journaling helps control your symptoms and improve your mood by:

>>> Helping you prioritize problems, fears, and concerns

>>> Tracking any symptoms day-to-day so that you can recognize triggers and learn ways to better control them

>>> Providing an opportunity for positive self-talk and identifying negative thoughts and behaviors

 When you have a problem and you're stressed, keeping a journal can help you identify what’s causing that stress or anxiety.  Once you’ve identified your stressors, you can work on a plan to resolve the problems and reduce your stress.

Keep in mind that journaling is just one aspect of a healthy lifestyle for better managing stress, anxiety, and mental health conditions."

They also write about "How To Journal".  "Try these tips to help you get started with journaling:

  >>>  Try to write every day. Set aside a few minutes every day to write. This will help you to write in your journal regularly.

>>>  Make it easy. Keep a pen and paper handy at all times. Then when you want to write down your thoughts, you can. You can also keep a journal on your smartphone.

 

>>>  Write or draw whatever feels right. Your journal doesn't need to follow any certain structure. It's your own private place to discuss and create whatever you want to express your feelings.  Let the words and ideas flow freely.  Don't worry about spelling mistakes or what other people might think.

>>>  Use your journal as you see fit. You don't have to share your journal with anyone. If you do want to share some of your thoughts with trusted friends and loved ones, you could show them parts of your journal.

  Keeping a journal helps you create order when your world feels like it’s in chaos. You get to know yourself by revealing your most private fears, thoughts, and feelings.  Look at your writing time as personal relaxation time.  It's a time when you can de-stress and wind down.  Write in a place that's relaxing and soothing, maybe with a cup of tea.  Look forward to your journaling time.  And know that you're doing something good for your mind and body."

Journaling to help with Recovery from a DV Offense 

  What kinds of things could a person with a DV-Related Offense Journal about that could be helpful and contribute to continued healing from that DV Offense?  

  What kinds of things could a person with a DV-Related Offense Journal about that could help them move toward healing in terms of; Accountability; and also help them move toward a Happier / Healthier Self?  Plus this could help us move towards having healthier and more enriching moments, lives and relationships?

   Below is a list of topics that a person could write into the first page of their DV Prevention Journal.  Each time we Journal -- whether it is Daily, every few days, or even Weekly, we can write about one or all of these topics:

• My Good Changes / My Growth: What are some things that I have recently changed for the better?

• My Wants / My Needs: What could I write right now that shows me that I truly want to have a Future without Domestic Violence?  What will I Want or Need in a Life Free of DV?

• Re-Affirming My Goals: This is a chance for me to Re-Affirm my Goals for my Future without Domestic Violence in my Life?  What Goals do I have that can help me find a Future without DV?  It could be as simple as making a list on a piece of paper.  It's the thinking that really gets the process going.  

• My New Insights: What are some New Insights that I have these days?  What are some New and Helpful Things that I am Thinking About or Learning About?

• My New Sense of Confidence:  What are some Things that I feel more Confident about right now than ever before?

• My New Challenges:  What are some new Challenges that I am now facing?  How do I feel about that?

• My New Strengths, New Skills / New Ways of Thinking: What have I learned?  What are some New Skills / New Thinking that I want to / or need to Learn About soon in order to Better Meet These Challenges?  What are some New Strengths about me that I am identifying these days?  How could I use those Strengths to help me prevent DV in the future?

• My New Plans: What is my Plan for now?  A Plan that could help me to overcome these Challenges?  What Plans will I need in order to move successfully into the Future?

• My Supports (Old and New): Who might I speak with / or Where might I search in order to help me successfully meet and deal with these Challenges in case I run out of Ideas?

• My New Hopes: What Hopes do I now have for the future?  What gives me Hope for a Future Without Domestic Violence?

• Positive Affirmations about Myself.   

• My Gratitude: What are some Things or People that I am grateful for, who are Helping Me to Overcome Domestic Violence?

• What do you think might be some good things to Journal About?

The Step-benefits of journaling include:

-- Just feeling what you feel right now;

-- Thinking how your life feels right now:

-- Just thinking about it and how you might want to say it;

-- Thinking about how you want to express it: (writing, poetry, songs, pictures, finger-painting, all kinds of ways to express yourself...)  The Journal does not have to be on paper.

-- The act of writing it down.

*** Please Click Here to Complete Your My DV Prevention Journal Worksheet!*** 

Sources: 

https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/live-well/2018/07/5-powerful-health-benefits-of-journaling/

Journaling for Mental Health:  https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentID=4552&ContentTypeID=1#:~:text=Journaling%20helps%20control%20your%20symptoms,and%20identifying%20negative%20thoughts%20and&text=Journaling%20helps%20control%20your%20symptoms,and%20identifying%20negative%20thoughts%20and