In need of an ink-tervention?
If you’re struggling to process your emotions, manage stress or gain clarity, you may want to get on the write track.
Shawna Thibodeau, a Toronto-area mental health nurse turned spiritual mentor, suggests release journaling as a healthy outlet for expressing difficult feelings.
“My work really involves working with both the dark and the light,” Thibodeau told The Post.
“We’re learning practices that can help with challenging emotions like stress, anxiety, fear, worry, overwhelm,” she continued. “We’re also learning practices that help us to connect to and embody more light.”
She was inspired to put release journaling in her toolkit by Dr. John Sarno, a mind-body medical pioneer who believed that releasing repressed emotions through 20 minutes of nightly journaling could relieve chronic pain.
The prompts include: “I’m angry about…,” “I’m sad about…,” “I’m overwhelmed by…,” “I’m stressed because…” and “I’m fearful of…”
“Release everything you are feeling,” Thibodeau said. “Have no filter — exactly what is in your mind, put it on paper.”
Go for at least 10 minutes. Once the time is up, acknowledge that these emotions are allowed to be here.
“You can even say, ‘This anger can be here, this stress can be here,’” Thibodeau said.
Now, it’s time for the light.
Review what you wrote and ask yourself, “What would be three things that are the opposite of this?”
If you are feeling stress, for example, greater inner peace or more harmony in your household would be the opposite.
Then, gently close your eyes and take a slow, deep breath in. Exhale any stress. Relax your jaw, forehead and your belly outwards.
“These are places we tend to hold tension,” Thibodeau said.
Now it’s time to welcome in loving energy. On your next inhale, state the word “love” in your mind.
Repeat “love” with every breath in.
“What we actually need most is love,” Thibodeau said. “So we’re just practicing welcoming it in and finding it within ourselves versus seeking it in the external world.”
Afterward, go down your list of three opposites one by one.
Say thank you for what you wrote down, like “it’s already come to you,” Thibodeau suggested.
“Repeat this a few times,” she added. “You can also visualize breathing it in.”
And finally, end with love. State the word “love” on an inhale, breathing loving energy into your body.
When you’re ready, gently wiggle your fingers and toes and open your eyes.
“This is a way that we can actually communicate what we’re struggling with, what we desire,” Thibodeau said about the mini-meditation.
“Interesting things start to stumble onto your path, and this is what starts to deepen your spiritual relationship over time.”
In her own life, Thibodeau found meditation when she was struggling with depression in nursing school. She got certified in it and eventually began teaching it full-time.
Her clients tend to be women in their 20s to mid-life. Some are grappling with mental health issues and dissatisfaction with their lives, while others are trying to reach their highest potential.
She takes a psycho-spiritual approach, incorporating cognitive behavioral therapy, EFT tapping and spiritual modalities. Think energy healing, visualization and manifestation along with meditation.
She teaches daily routines and “SOS” practices for challenging emotions in an eight-week online program called the Radiant Mind Academy.
Release journaling is more of an “SOS” exercise, Thibodeau said.
“What we’re often doing is we’re actually shaming our emotions inside,” she noted.
“By release journaling, we’re sending a signal to our body that these emotions are OK to feel, and we can actually spend time releasing them and getting them out in healthy ways.”
Thibodeau also runs healing and spiritual retreats and recently wrote “The Light That Shines Through.”
The memoir delves into her journey from darkness to healing and transformation after her brother died of an accidental drug overdose.
“[The book] can be very helpful for anyone struggling with depression, anxiety, mental health, grief, loss,” she said.
“It can be helpful for people wanting to learn how to transform their reality, create greater abundance, success, expansion, because that’s kind of how these practices have helped me.”
