3) I journaled – a lot

Journaling is how I kept track of my “experiments”, my progress in therapy and my “wins” (growth). Outside of session, journaling was my first line of defence when I was experiencing something challenging. Writing (or typing) out my thoughts not only helped me to unburden myself, but it also helped me learn how to practice self-validation and self-compassion. Journaling also helped me defuse when I was in distress. Fun fact: the physical act of writing helps us keep the parts of our brain that are responsible for logic and reasoning “online”. When we’re deep into a challenging emotion we’re only using the parts of our brains responsible for impulse. I can’t tell you how many times journaling saved me from self-harming behaviours, including sending those longggggg emotion-driven essay-style texts to friends and loved ones.