The important part of awareness is to know what you are feeling and why you are feeling this way. The truth is our brain is complex and it creates a situation where we are safe, i.e. in a preservation mode.
And sometimes the thoughts we have are not rooted in reality but a result of our own preservation instincts. And that’s when we get confused.
Our own subconscious brain trying to help us. We believe it. But it’s creating stories and nothing else. We need to understand how our brain works, what our pattern is.
Only then can we figure out how to overcome these feelings and negative thoughts.
Shadow journaling is nothing but working on our inner self. It’s also called INNER WORK. Because you work on yourself, you are not just writing what you are feeling or thinking.
You write your raw emotions, you face it on paper, analyze them and work through them.
MY STRUGGLE WITH ANXIETY AND HOW I OVERCAME IT
I have suffered anxiety for a long time and I can tell you that it is a disorder. I could never understand how I got anxiety, maybe the way I grew up, but I don’t want to get into my childhood because it’s a bit personal, and I’m not ready to share that, but childhood environment can be a reason for anxiety.
I have always been stubborn and irritated with everything around me. It took a lot of healing to get where I am today. But it still isn’t enough.
I keep going. I keep practicing mindfulness, shadow journaling and Essential oil therapy has really helped. I still get anxious sometimes when things don’t work out the way I want to or if I am facing a conflict in my personal life.
But now, I know my triggers and how my thinking pattern affects my anxiety so I can work on it. I know what to do if I get anxiety and so I suffer less.
The best thing that works for me is Essential oil Therapy with Shadow journaling. Letting my emotions out will create more space for positive thoughts and happy feelings. And once I’m empty, I recharge my energy by doing the things I love, like watching a nice movie or reading a book, cooking an amazing meal or going out in nature and breathing the pure fresh energy of the plants. Using Essential oil blends for inspiration, joy and creating space in my thoughts to figure out what I really want and need. And then I do just that.
I think Anxiety is the result of all those clogged up emotions and negative thoughts that were never let out. So I really recommend you to release all the unnecessary emotions so that you brain can work on optimum level.
Think of it as garbage disposal. If you don’t dispose of your garbage then your home will smell really bad. In fact any kind of clutter is not good for your peace of mind.
Try Marie Kondo method for your cluttered brain. Ask yourself is this feeling giving me joy? If not then let it go. And keep those beautiful memories within you that give happiness and make you feel awesome from the inside.
SHADOW JOURNALING
Let your emotions out and figure out what triggered your anxiety.
A] Take your journal with you and write down all the pointers for the emotions you are feeling. Or if you are not comfortable with taking your journal outside then just note it in your phone.
B] You write down your raw emotional pain points. Like how you are feeling at the moment. Angry, sad, frustrated, disappointed, guilty, anxious, etc. Not only this, but also what’s going through your mind. Every raw emotion. Every negative or worse thing you can think of you need write in your journal.
Let your dark side or Shadow side come to light. Give it voice. We always keep our bad side hidden and we are afraid of it. But let’s honor it today for your own peace of mind.
Whatever guilty thoughts you are having about something, whatever you feel like you want to do when you are angry or frustrated, you write it down.
That is ‘SHADOW JOURNALING’.
What are you afraid of?
What are you dreading?
What is the worst thing that can happen?
C] Now I want you to ask ‘WHY’ after every emotional outburst. I want you to ask why for every emotion you are feeling and keep asking yourself ‘why’ until you get to the root of your emotion.
The truth is every emotion has an underlying cause and your emotional triggers can say a lot about the real reason behind your emotions. And our goal is to find the truth behind your emotions. So keep asking why.
D] Now once you get to the root of the emotion you will also know what triggered it. But we can make the mistake of avoiding people, places, or things that triggers us. And we need to change this. We don’t want to avoid conflicts, we need to face it and understand our emotions and ourselves better.
For example, if you see a friend who is successful and earns more than you, you are naturally inclined to hate her or be envious of her. But that is just a trigger, your real issue is how she makes you feel about yourself. When you see her you feel you are not as good as her, or you can never have what she has, or that she is just lucky. But the truth is all of these things are your made up stories to hide the fact that you think you are not good enough or that you are not worth it. You need to accept the fact that you can have anything you want if you work for it and not thinking about what others have.
If you see that friend from a place of love and compassion for yourself then you would understand that everyone’s journey is different. And whatever you are doing is enough and you will get there when it’s your time.
E] Now you know what to do. But when to do this? This is not a one-time thing. You don’t get to do this once and think oh! I know myself better now. No! You don’t. You may now of one thing that triggered it but there are other triggers to find out.
And this is a process. When you do this over and over again you will truly gain the wisdom of self and it will be so beneficial and rewarding.
This is a difficult road but that is why I have paired this process with Essential oils because they can support us in way that make us open to feel our emotions. And you need to be open to healing only when you accept your wounds and understand that it is going to hurt and you are going to suffer.
But if you know how to suffer, you suffer less.
And Essential oils can help you in your suffering you only need to accept it and let them do their work.
Here are some of the Essential oil blends that I use when I am journaling or having an intense letting out my emotions sessions.
1] JOURNALING BLEND
Clary Sage 5 drops
Bergamot 10 drops
Geranium 5 drops
2] BALANCE BLEND
Neroli 3 drops
Clary Sage 5 drops
Lavender 10 drops
3] JOYFUL BLEND
Lemon 5 drops
Grapefruit 3 drops
Sweet Orange 5 drops
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