What are some of the moments that have defined who you are? Were they high points or low points or both? What was it about these moments that gave them the power to define you?

About 15 years ago, I went through a trauma. The details involve other people’s stories besides my own, so I’m not going to share the story. I will share the aftermath though.

Something in me snapped when the trauma happened. I had been devout my whole life, but when this happened, I felt like everything I had been promised about God wasn’t true after all. I lost my faith for a long time. That snowballed into losing my career and losing my community and losing the country I had been living in for 11 years. In other words, I lost almost everything that I used to define who I was.

That prompted a long period of lostness and searching. I looked up and down for meaning. I was ashamed of my lostness, and I didn’t know who I was. It was incredibly painful, but in some ways it was a gift too.

In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, one of the pillars is something called “self-as-context.” It’s contrasted with “self-as-content,” which means that you see yourself as being defined by your stories about yourself. In my case, “I am a Christian; I am my job; I am an expat.” Those things are content, and they feel like who I am, but they are really just the story I am telling about myself.

The breakthrough comes when you see yourself as the one observing the story, as being one with the big space that the story happens in. And it can only happen if you loosen your grip on those ways you define yourself. In that way, a shock to the system or a challenge to your identity can be a blessing that causes you to see yourself as more than the stories you’ve been telling about yourself.

A lot of people feel like it would be good to keep a journal. Maybe your therapist suggested it to you. Maybe you have some issues you’d like to sort through, and you feel like journaling could help you process your thoughts and feelings. Some people want a record of what they’ve gone through. Others are using it as a tool to accomplish something.

I come at journaling from a primarily therapeutic perspective. Journaling has been a tool of healing and growth in my life, whether processing childhood issues, coping with anxiety or depression, seeking to grow spiritually, or wanting to know myself better.  I also look at journaling from the perspective of a counselor. Where appropriate, I use journaling interventions with clients to help them heal.

I created this blog to share this fantastic healing tool. The majority of posts will be short journaling prompts. I’ll be following a theme each month, so I’ll start off the month introducing the theme. Along the way I’ll make posts about different journaling techniques you can try out and answering questions people have about journaling.

I encourage you to interact with the posts, share your thoughts and reactions, and ask questions. Keep in mind that this is not therapy, and I can’t give therapeutic advice on this blog, so keep focused on issues surrounding journaling.

I am looking forward to getting to know you as we go down this road together! Let’s dive in!