3 Powerful Journalling Tools To Process Troubling Thoughts

For worries: WORST tool. 

• W: Worries. What’s the worst that will happen? Play the movies of your fears and feel your body. Breathe.
• O: OK? Would you be OK (i.e survive)? Why would it all be OK? (Even if you die). Play the movie of it being OK.
• R: Recover. Assume it happened. How would you recover? Play the movie of your recovery.
• S: Statistically: How likely is it to happen, really? What %, really?
• T: Tactics: What could you do to reduce the likelihood of this happening? Play the movie of trying varied tactics and notice the % number go down.

For relaxing general judgements about yourself / others: THE WORK of Byron Katie, which I adapted into an acronym.

• First - lay out all your judgemental thoughts and then pick the most stressful one or two. Focus on thoughts that have judgements or imperatives (eg. Shoulds / need statements)
• T True: Is it true? Yes/no (take 10 seconds to sit with the question first)
• H: Hundred percent sure?  Yes/no - and why? (take 20 seconds to sit with question first)
• E: Emotional reaction when you believe the thought? (What do you feel, do, imagine, say, not do)  (30 seconds) 
• W: Without the thought how would you be? (Take 30 seconds to really imagine)
• O: Opposites: Can you turn around the thought and find many different opposites?  Try them on, repeat them and ponder them. (Opposites could include the opposite target of the judgement, the opposite meaning or the opposite judgement). (2 min)
• R: Reason: Can you accept that there is a reason why you are doing this? What does it help protect you from? What beliefs does it reconfirm? Do many people share this reasoning and therefore make you the same as others?  (2 min)
• K: Kind - How would you respond and treat someone with kindness, who told themselves this judgement? (1 min)

For changing pervasive self-critical thought into self-compassionate talk:
SAFER communication with the part that is critical (this is more of a taking tool than a writing tool) 

• Space: Find a private and safe space. Give the emotional part space to speak freely. Use repetition. (1-2 mins)
• Acknowledge: Begin with“Thank you for sharing” then summarise the important parts of what your heard (1 min)
• Feelings: Within this acknowledging summary put special focus on labelling and validating feelings (1 min)
• Empathic Exploration: Encourage oneself to go deeper by feeling into the body and checking out how it is now (1 min)
• Recognise: Celebrate efforts and achievements to honour and respect oneself fully