Writing For Emotional Balance: A Guided Journal To Help You Manage Overwhelming Emotions (Paperback)

by Beth Jacobs (Author) "Our reactions to our world exist in an extremely complex and changeable internal climate of feelings..." (more)
Key Phrases: emotion management skills, sensory comforts, sensory focus, Emotional Views (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The practice of keeping a journal is increasingly being recommended by therapists and other health care professionals as a tool for gaining a better understanding of one’s life situations and corresponding emotions. In this book, Jacobs provides readers with a progressive, step-by-step guide for doing so easily and effectively. Journals, she writes, are "a checkpoint between your emotions and the world," that enable us to view our feelings from a distance, and to become clearer about the beliefs and attitudes that shape them.

Beginning with an explanation about the value of keeping a journal, Jacobs then guides readers through various processes to clarify our understanding of the subjective nature of emotions and how they are influenced by time and memory. Readers then learn how to define and evaluate their emotions, predict their emotional patterns, release emotions that no longer serve them, and refocus and organize their emotional life in ways that are more appropriate and fulfilling. Supported by over 30 hands-on exercises, this guide is an excellent resource for novice and seasoned journalists alike.--Larry Trivieri Jr.

Product Description
When you've decided you can't take it any more, it helps a great deal to know what it actually is. The process of writing about overwhelming emotions is a remarkably effective means of creating clarity and perspective in your life. Regular journal writers and diarists rely on their writing to help them keep their emotions in perspective; this book distills the best emotional benefits of regular personal writing into a series of engaging and easy-to-practice writing exercises.

This book begins by helping readers explore why they were drawn to journaling in the first place and what their goals are for their writing experiments. Short projects help readers name their emotions, distancing them from overwhelming feelings so that they can react more constructively. Other exercises work to help readers interpret emotions from different perspectives. By learning to gauge their emotional reactions on a "feelings barometer," readers will come to understand the perceived strength of an emotion. Further exercises encourage readers to discover emotional triggers, write an emotional history, and connect physical and emotional responses. By practicing these exercises, readers will develop a language of positive imagery that will enhance comfort and peace of mind.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 129 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (January 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572243821
• ISBN-13: 978-1572243828
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #273,458 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn to Control Your Emotions More Than They Control You!, May 8, 2005

By	L. A. Schneider - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love the personal and non-judgmental tone of this book! Dr. Jacobs clearly cares about her readers and wants all of us to learn how to manage our emotions better when they get out of hand. Happily, she offers a lot more than just talk. There are 33 exercises in the book plus space to respond to them. In some of the exercises, you get to know yourself better, and in others you practice the techniques she teaches for managing emotions. All you need is a pen or pencil and the desire to control your feelings more than they control you. The book ends up being both a valuable lesson about the way emotions work and an invaluable journal that helps you figure out how YOUR emotions work and how you can become a better manager of them. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to have more control over his or her life!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for every person's mind control!, April 9, 2006

By	Lovely Cactus (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

I've managed my mind through writing a diary or just scribbling at any moment. This book taught me how I can develop this writing into managing my mind effectively. Very detailed and kind guide for everyone who wants to keep under control themselves well.

8 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Writings...., August 16, 2005

By	H. M. Toth "Multichannel" (Northwest Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It isn't as I expected I wanted more space to write and topics to help me get going......