hi! Journaling is a very interesting tool for self discovery, self love and understanding your thoughts. Be it that you're trying to quit an addiction, having habits or reactions you would like to understand and avoid, or if you simply want to become a better and more aware version of yourself, journaling is good for mindfulness and progress. Let me know if you would like some advice on journaling practices!
Most definitely. Journaling is used for self reflection too. Writing things down is one of the most powerful way in seeing things clearer. You may see patterns that you never noticed before. Many lessons can be learned by journaling.
thanks for your answer i will try journaling,can you please tell me how you journal?,on the internet there are houndreds of methods
Sorry, I don't know how to quote messages here, but I can definitely give you some guidelines. Keep it in mind that it is generalized and simplified, rather than specialized on porn addiction. Also, it got pretty long, sorry about that as well. The most effective ways to journal are the following: - daily. - on demand. Daily journaling sounds easy, but can be complicated. At the end of each day take 10 minutes of your time, before sleep usually, to journal what happened in that day. Focus on what you *felt* that day and the activities you did. Even if sometimes you feel like the day was dull and boring, try to find a good aspect about it. "I got to smell some fresh air, so that was nice". At first this " forced" positive outlook might seem weird, but the more you try to see the beauty around you, it will become more natural. You can also end the journaling page with affirmations. By the way, it doesn't have to be with pen and paper if you don't want to or are not able to. I use my phone notes app."I am becoming a better person", "I am leaving the past in the past", create the affirmations you feel comfortable using, for what you need. If you are not really an spiritual/open person, feel free to skip this. "On demand" journaling refers to writing down when you are met with difficulties. This method is best used if you are actively trying to heal something. Let's say you are feeling very irritated and keep snapping on your loved ones, and you'd like to stop that. When you are snapping, after you are in a better mind space, sit down and write what happened, then ask yourself questions. "What triggered it?" "What was my body or mind trying to tell me?". Anger, for example, is a defensive mechanism. If somebody made you angry all of the sudden your body was either low on energy/hungry/etc and more stress would affect you - response is to become angry to stop the stress; or it felt wronged or unfaired by something or someone - again, become angry to stop the trigger. Other useful questions: When did I felt like this before? What can I do to avoid feeling like this? The point of this method is to go to the root of the problem and solve it from there. It can take days, weeks, months until you find an answer. Don't rush and learn to understand yourself. All of these can easily be applied to porn. "What triggered my urge today? What can I do to avoid it? What connection did my brain make between this trigger and my need to PMO?" Be patient with yourself, be open to explore yourself. I'm very good at rambling, sorry about that, but I hope this would be helpful. You can use both methods, change them and make your own, it's really about you being open to understand what your body and mind is telling you, rather than what method you're using.
Oh yes, It helps a lot! It really help a lot! I suggest you start doing it Here! On the Forums on the Journal Section, It has a lots of benefits to you and it will inspire new guys. Good Luck.
+1 for helping! Give it a try. My longest streak was done when writing down a daily checklist, on of the item on the list as no PMO for the day. Having a written record helped.
Hi @HardWorkOnly, if you’re interested in starting a journal, you can do so by starting a new thread here. Best of luck to you!
I was thinking journaling on a sketch book,do you think it is better to write it by hand instead of typing it in this forum?
While @Jefe Rojo is right, and people will give a lot of support if you post it in the forums, purely from an outside POV, writing by hand is suggested because our brain integrates it way easier than typing or speaking. This is actually why a lot of people fall into the hypno stuff rabbit-hole, it's using parts of your brain quicker than just watching. When you write by hand (or read a book, or listen to podcasts etc), you enter a relaxation state that allows the brain to process things better. Why not both? Write in your sketchbook and then update here in the forum the most important parts of it, what you discovered through your journaling or simply a summary of what you've written by hand.
Any way is good, you might get more creative and open when you write it down in some sketchbook but then you lose the ability to share it here and get opinions/encouragement from others.
I have journaled, but very inconsistently, and mostly after relapse or when I am beginning a new campaign of nofap, or diet, or exercise, etc. I would not write it for the purpose of posting or sharing 'cause it's for me. I know I would slant my expression in ways to make myself look like I'm doing better than I am. The person I am most accountable to is myself. This sounds simple, but I forget it almost daily. It is the hardest, at least at first, to admit that I am that guy that does all these messed up things and seems so powerless. But I am also the guy that has it in him somewhere to clean up the mess, and come clean with myself if nobody else. So today as I reset for the nth time, I wonder how I have avoided these conversations with myself. And I sit down to write just a few lines to myself in an old notebook, like a letter to an old friend, "How's it goin'?"
