Self Therapy Through Writing
I have just finished up a writing program created by a group of clinical & research psychologists at the University of Toronto and Mcgill University. Dr Daniel M. Higgins, Dr Robert O. Pihl and Dr Jordan B. Peterson. The last of which has gained a lot of traction via Social Media over the last few years and has even appeared on the Joe Rogan Podcast.
Now that I have completed the program over this month I have some time to sit back and reflect on its impact. I have found that the course as a whole has helped me achieve greater clarity with my thoughts concerning my current place in life and now that I have actually written something down I feel as though I have taken the steps to implement a concrete life plan that is tailored to my specific and exact needs.
The course takes on the form of 3, technically, 4 modules each of which aims to target a specific part of life. The Past, Present and Future, I will delve into greater details on all 3 through this post. The course aims to use writing as a means to navigate one’s life and in doing so it lets you make peace with the past, accept the present, and plan for the future. I’ll drop in a quote from the program to explain the benefits of writing.
Careful writing about traumatic or uncertain events, past, present or future, appears to produce a variety of benefits, physiological and psychological. Written accounts of trauma positively influence health. Recent investigations have shown that the explicit written description of an ideal future produces similar results.
https://selfauthoring.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Pdf/WritingBenefits.pdf
Writing about the Present
I’ll kick it off with the present authoring program which is technically 2 modules, Faults & Virtues but that’s not something you need to be concerned about. Upon completing the present authoring program I felt a greater understanding of my current self both my virtues and faults were highlighted in a way that helped me to be a lot more accepting of the way I am as an individual. I also feel I can better leverage my qualities and use them to create new opportunities while also being aware of times I had led myself to mess up and how to change and navigate those issues in the future. I had a more positive outlook on myself as a whole and overall felt uplifted after tooting my own horn about my good qualities and all the ways they have worked in my favour. However, after completing the faults section my immediate state was one of a lower mood (the course explains that this is to be expected) and I felt slightly worse about myself immediately afterwards, however with time this negative emotion faded away and what remained was a deeper understanding of the self & acceptance.
Therapy For the Past
The Past Authoring module was able to revive some memories of deep emotional significance that I had forgotten were even there. As I was moving through this section I felt I was able to come to terms with my past and to have a better understanding of its shaping me into the thing I am today. Armed with the knowledge of my past, I became much more self-aware about actions I was engaging with, in the present, motivated by the trauma (I hate that word) of my past self that were not serving me in my current situation. It gave me the ability to let go of the things of the past and paved the way for change to take place. Here is another quote from the program given to you at the end of the module.
People are much healthier and more hopeful and less depressed and more productive if they have truly derived the most relevant information from their past experiences.
www.selfauthoring.com
Preparing for the Future
In the future authoring program I felt that now with the newfound knowledge of my past and present, I was able to formulate a life plan and some goals to give me a sense of direction. Just this act of writing down these goals made them more concrete and increased my motivation to get out there and get them accomplished, one of these goals was starting my own blog :). Now that I have outlined my goals I now know the actions I need to take to implement them myself and It serves as a guide (my north start in a sense) as to whether or not what I am doing is taking me in a direction I want to go. I’ll toss in the 3rd and final from the program quote here.
Researchers have found that if someone performs goal-setting tasks multiple times over a long period, there is a greater chance of health and productivity improvements.
www.selfauthoring.com
As a result, you might wish to engage in this sort of exercise on a regular basis, every four, six, or twelve months, as your situation changes.
Final Thoughts
I discovered so much about myself during my time writing on the program, that I now see how invaluable a tool like writing down your thoughts and ideas is. Often times while I was writing I was taking a journey of discovery, it’s like the act of writing itself and formulating the words to describe my thoughts & feelings coherently and typing them out was allowing me to better understand them! Overall the course has increased my self-awareness and given me a more positive outlook on my life as a whole and where I am headed. I recommend that everyone, especially young people, try this tool as a means of self-exploration and to allow themselves the right of self-understanding