What are your thoughts on journaling?

I think it could be good as an outlet but I think the trouble could come from the potential to go back to those thoughts and reread them repeatedly (even if it’s just while you’re flipping through to make your next entry). I haven’t tried this myself, but it could be good to write it all out and then get rid of the paper afterward? That way you can process, feel your feelings, let everything out that you need to, but not give yourself the opportunity to ruminate on it further

I’ve been wondering the same thing for myself! Journaling in the past didn’t work great for me, but I’ve never had a journal where I wrote only the thoughts and not about how the thoughts make me feel—- I want to try this. Ive been experiencing some pretty rough rocd and it’s putting a lot of strain on my relationship. I’m doing my best to expose myself to the thoughts and not give in to asking my partner for reassurance, but once it gets to the point where I feel I have to give in to the compulsion, I think I would rather write it out than ask my partner. Maybe then after when I am calm I can talk with him a bit about it without sharing the thoughts if they are too much. I would try it if I were you! If it doesn’t work, then you’ll know it doesn’t work for you. I think I’m going to do the same.

I journal through the new Apple journalling app. I find it to be a really good distraction and I can lose hours in it.

Hey there! It sounds like you're really giving this a lot of thought and trying to find the best way to manage your feelings without impacting your relationships. That's super insightful of you. 🤔 I'm no expert on OCD, especially with this theme, so I can't offer specific advice, but I can share some resources that might help. One resource I've found helpful is the OCD stories podcast. It shares experiences and strategies from different people dealing with OCD, which might give you some insight or ideas on journaling and managing obsessions. Also, there's this app called "unstuck OCD therapy tools" that my NOCD therapist recommended. It's designed to provide AI-personalized guidance and exercises right when you need them. It could be a great tool for you to explore, especially when you're considering how to balance your need to process thoughts without feeding into obsessive patterns. 📱