Writing letters to your younger self...

In case it helps anyone else, I thought that I'd post about something that is having a remarkable effect on me, and that is writing letters to my younger self (and extending that to writing letters to myself as I am now, concerning what's affecting me and going on with me now, present day).

I first thought about doing this when I listened to the marvellous lady in this podcast interview who, as part of her healing process showed compassion to herself as she would do to her child (which she describes at around 34 minutes into the recording... but the whole interview is imo well worth listening to for profound encouragement) https://audioboom.com/posts/8308005-total-recovery-from-autoimmune-disease-and-so-much-more-with-mouse (The Cure for Chronic Pain with Nicole Sachs, LCSW / Total Recovery From Autoimmune Disease and SO Much More with Mouse)

I then saw this small video clip https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0g5xzvh (BBC Radio 5 Live - In Short, ‘I started writing letters to my younger self’) and thought I'd give it a go. From the first time I tried it it gave me some relief not only from mental tension (for want of a better way of putting it) but also some virtually immediate physical relief from my TMS symptoms (muscle pain). So I'm going to keep on doing this in the hopes of temporary relief turning into permanent relief. When I don't fancy writing things down I internally talk to my younger self and present self, which I'm also finding is very helpful and effective.

And, finally, this article is written and geared towards younger people about writing to your younger self and future self but is appropriate for anyone of any age https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zj8r3j6 (Dear Younger Me: How letter-writing can help your mental health)

I've not been a great lover of journaling but this kind of approach seems to be 'hitting the spot' for me, so I thought I'd share, especially for those who also don't like journaling or for those who'd welcome a different approach to journaling.

 

I'm using JournalSpeak (of the podcast) in combination with other approaches too! I've been at it for about two weeks, writing once daily or twice if I want to.
I have gone deep faster than expected - I wrote a list of past and current stressors as suggested on the JS website and just went from there.

I'm having a lot of nearly pain free days and certain symptoms (my digestion for example) have improved immediately. I've also made more connections and developed deeper insights in two weeks of journaling than in the past two years of trauma therapy (that's not a knock on therapy, I intend to stick with both).

Keep us posted on how you go with this. So far I think there is really something to it.