Avenues to Healing

"Repressed memories can surface in a number of different ways. It may be through the realization of a memory that didn’t end the way you thought it had. It may be through a dream that was particularly disturbing and left you with a nagging feeling throughout the day (although, I caution you to analyze the dream because often a literal interpretation of our disturbing dreams can reveal something very different from a symbolic interpretation). Still yet, a repressed memory may surface in a journal entry." (excerpt from Chapter 13 of "You're Only As Sick As Your Secrets")I've found journaling to be extremely helpful when attempting to bring clarity to a situation of concern (and it does not have to be abuse related). Often, when people with little or no experience with journaling hear the word, they are immediately put off in some sense. It may be the thought of having to find a quiet space to sit, the idea that journaling takes a great deal of time, or even that writing requires skills such as grammatical knowledge. If this sounds familiar, I urge you to let go of any preconceived notions you may have and just sit with a pen and paper. Allow the process to unfold without giving it much thought. You may find yourself beginning to doodle and a picture may appear. Maybe a list of individual words with seemingly no connection to one another will spill onto the page. Leave behind the need to have everything correct. After all, who is going to see it? Once finished with your entry, it is entirely your choice as to whether you'll keep what you've created or rip it up and trash it. (I would, however, encourage you to first take a look at what you've produced to see if it impacts you in any way.) Either way, you've accomplished taking what was, at one time, being stored in your body/mind and allowed it to leave empty space for other more empowering thoughts and experiences to come in.Good luck and have fun with it!