TMS Writing Tools
List Making
Creating lists is an amazing first step to Journaling Work. These lists can be divided into three categories Past, Present and Personality Traits. You may use three pages to make these three lists. It could be topics about triggers, stresses or personal characteristics that need uncovering. Events and stresses that caused fear, sadness, pain, anger, guilt, frustration, fear, worry, embarrassment or any other emotion should be listed. You can add on significant topics to the lists as and when they come to your mind.
Journal on each topic one session at a time.
1. Past and Childhood
The past has a major role to play in how we cope with stress. We can list out the events that could have had an impact on our lives. It can include any issue related to your parents, siblings, teachers, friends. This list could include any topic that comes to a person's mind, even if one does not think it has anything to do with their symptoms.
2. Present
A major source for stress triggers can be from the problems we face in our present day to day life which lead to stressful thoughts within ourselves from moment to moment. In this category, we list out all the possible stress sources at home, office, social activities, spouse, children or any other issue that grabs ours attention in our daily routine.
3. Personality Traits
One’s personality traits have a link with one’s TMS symptoms. List any traits including perfectionism, goodism, low self-esteem, holding onto anger, worry, resentment, guilt, or isolation. It is important to write down every personality trait a person can think of, especially traits that were learned from childhood and the ones we currently possess.
Free Writing
Free Writing is a technique where we write about our thoughts and feelings related to personally stressful or traumatic life events.
We choose a topic from the one of the lists: Past, Present or Personality Trait Lists. And write on it as much as we can freely.
We pay more attention to our feelings than the events, memories, objects, or people in the contents of a narrative. It allows us to uncover the deeper layers behind our chronic pain, suffering and symptom equivalents.
Steps and Reminders
Write non-stop for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
With your mind in a meditative state, keep writing freely and quickly allowing thoughts to flow.
There’s no right and wrong in this. There’s nothing to censor.
This content is only meant to be viewed by you so you needn’t worry about spelling, punctuation and word usage.
Focus on your emotions and allow them a strong outlet.
End it on a positive note and with gratitude for what you are thankful for that day.
And you may have a small meditation session to finish.
Some Writing Prompts
I avoid feeling ……………………………
I feel angry so much on…………………..
I am so ashamed by………………………
I feel so low when………………………...
I won’t admit to myself that………………
I detest thinking about……………………
I am scared of……………………………..
The secrets I won’t share are……………...
I wish I were brave enough to say that….….
I am sad right now because………………..
In this writing technique, we have a conversation with our younger self. This technique helps us to uncover repressed childhood emotions. We also get to receive added perspective on various life events.
Steps and Reminders
Choose a specific age for your younger self.
Spend a couple of minutes imagining the sights and sounds of your life at that age. Think about the residence you were living in. You may make use of a photograph of that time.
In this mind setting, start writing a dialogue between your younger-self and yourself. Allow it to be free-flowing.
You can talk to your younger self just like you would talk to your close friend about what you did that day.
Conversations with your Younger Self
Unsent Letters
This technique is useful for those who have difficulty in expressing emotions to other people. By writing an unsent letter to the people that hurt us or caused stress to us, we express how we truly feel about certain events or issues. This can release our emotions and we gain understanding about our feelings with more clarity and depth.
Since these letters are unsent, we are able to freely express how we feel and begin to understand how interactions with other people or groups have affected our lives. You can write to anyone or anything and about any topic. You may even write it to your own inner child or younger self. After writing, try to reflect and end it on a positive note.
Alternate Point of View
In this writing method, we write in the third person, instead of writing with phrases such as “I think that…”, we use the third person like “He/She thinks that…” This make it easier to write on difficult topics since in third person we don’t see it as personal. It allows us to see our situations and issues from a different point of view, which can provide significant insight.
You can write about yourself in the context of any chosen topic or issue. When you are done, try to reflect on what you wrote and end the writing session on a positive note.
Dialogues
In this method, we write out a dialogue between oneself and another person or anything. We then respond for the other person in a way that we think he or she would be likely to respond. These dialogues help us to investigate ways to cope with certain situations while providing us with deeper insight.
Write the dialogue in free flowing manner, write whatever comes to mind.
When finished, we then reflect on what emotions we expressed and what we learned through the dialogue. We then affirm that it’s beneficial and healthy to investigate our thoughts, and emotions regarding our relationship with this person.
