Is the past important to process? Or is it a torture chamber of your rumination, harrassing you with shame and disappointment? Processing the past finds advantage when it is blocking your current living. It feels particularly unhelpful when it is a mixed tape on repeat, playing only to punish. Journal Prompt: I still need to process... I need to leave behind...
Tag: Boundaries
A Journal Prompt for Change
Change happens, all at once, slowly, with relapse, with a lot of help, and with none at all. Journal Prompt: To find change I need...
A Journal Prompt for Recovery
In recovery, you allot effort to live differently than you once did. You resign thinking, living, and behavior that you’ve paid too dearly to maintain. Journal Prompt: I wish I could allot time to...
A Journal Prompt for the Grief in Setting Boundaries
Setting a boundary triggers grief. Choosing to not be mistreated can mean loss of connection. Setting a boundary around a controlling parent, might mean less contact. Shedding the part of you that was okay for awhile with how it was, means you lose the comfortable and predictable feeling. Journal Prompt: If I set a boundary, I will grieve...
A Journal Prompt for Boundaries
Communicating boundaries does not equal setting boundaries. Talking, sharing, asking, demanding, this is boundary communicating. This is preparation. Boundaries become something when you take action. Journal Prompt: No action provides...
A Journal Prompt for Projection
Too close to see our own hypocrisy, we miss that what we condemn, is often what we do not want to see in ourself. Journal Prompt: What do I project on others, that I do not want to see in myself?
Family Boundaries: Journal Prompt 11
Triangles A triangle happens when you involve a person outside of the original conflict, seeking an external alliance and attempting to maintain a sense of power. In family dynamics, triangulation can function as a way to relieve anxiety and avoid confrontation, ultimately helping the family maintain status quo. A Triangulation Example: Person A + Person B have a conflict. Person A feels anxious about the conflict and talks to Person C to help manage their anxious feelings and avoid working it out with Person B. Person C becomes a thermostat, enabling avoidance and relieving anxiety. Triangulation is understandable, but it ultimately undercuts what a family hopes for, connection and security. Journal Prompt: I triangulate when...
Regret: Journal Prompt 10
Ready When you are ready, put regret down. Peel it off. Kneel down and place it on the earth. Stand up. Take a moment to see it on the dirt in front of you. Decide to let it lie. Turn around. Walk away. Look back once more, walk further. Wave from a distance, keep walking. Journal Prompt: If I put regret down…
Family Boundaries: Journal Prompt 10
Setting boundaries with family is easier when you have a clear understanding of your values.
Family Boundaries: Journal Prompt 9
Your assumption cannot be that everyone is interested in change.
Mental Health & Journaling 