Welcome to your session today.
My name is Shanna Moyer and this is a session designed to help guide you through a journaling process,
To help you navigate and process stress.
Stress is something that we will all experience at some point in our lives.
It might be something that you struggle with and maybe that's what led you here.
So if you can,
Grab a journal or a notebook,
Some blank pieces of paper,
Some scrap paper if you have it,
Something to write with and close your eyes.
Place your hands over your heart and just consider the word stress.
It's uncomfortable.
It can be hard and it can be heavy.
There's a lot of other emotions that come with stress.
So whatever you are feeling,
Whatever you are carrying,
Bring it to mind.
This is a safe space and there with your eyes closed,
I just want you to consider all of the things that come along with your stress.
Take a few minutes,
Breathe into your body,
Listen to the music as it plays and just feel.
When you feel ready,
Opening the windows of your eyes,
Taking your journal or your pieces of paper and whatever it is that you have to write with and answering these prompts as fully and completely as you need.
Where in your body do you feel stress?
Where in your body do you feel stress?
If you could assign a color to your stress,
What would it be?
If you could assign a color to your stress,
What would it be?
And now bringing to mind the situation that is causing you stress right now and making a list.
Bullet point forms are fine but I'd love for you to take a moment to identify who was there,
What were the details,
What time of year was it,
What time of day.
If it's helpful,
Even a geographical location.
Point form details of this stressful situation.
Give them context and give them a space to live that isn't inside of your body anymore.
You can pause the recording if you need to,
If you need more time.
But when that feels complete,
In the largest space on your piece of paper,
Extending on to the back or other pages if you need to,
I invite you to answer this question as the music plays in the background.
What is the story of your stress?
No one's going to read it.
There is no judgment here.
Just a space where you can confidently write down the story of your stress.
The music will play on for several minutes.
You can pause the recording anytime you need more time.
You can write as much or as little as what you need to today.
You can even put this away and return to it several days later.
What is the story of your stress?
And now for the final part of journaling for your stress,
To help process the stress,
I invite you to turn to a new page and on it,
Right there in the center,
I invite you to write,
For now I feel stressed.
Take a moment to look at that phrase in your handwriting.
For now I feel stressed.
Understand that when we attach the words for now,
It reduces the permanence of that story.
Stress will happen.
The residual emotions will happen.
It will come back and be full circle and then happen again.
This is the human experience but it's only for now.
For now I feel stress.
You've located it in your body.
You've assigned a color to it.
You've written out the details in a point-form list and you've told the story of your stress and then finally you've said for now.
It's just for now.
It's not forever.
The next time you encounter the emotion of stress,
Come back here.
Process it in a different way so that you're not carrying it forward.
