Howdy,

Many people feel overwhelmed when they hear the words healing journey.

Who wants to go on a journey when your computer can take you for a jog and make the day go by that much faster?

Furthermore, where do you even start? All the "advice" you hear on the internet about healing can seem incredibly abstract. Especially if you're a newcomer.

In this email, I'm going to give you five PRACTICAL things that ANYONE can do to start their healing journey today.

1: Read a memoir

Maybe you aren't ready to start your journey quite yet. But reading about someone else's journey is a great way to get your feet wet.

Memoirs provide you with proof that you are not alone in how you feel as well as lessons to learn from so that your journey is not as painful as the one you read about.

Here are some memoirs I recommend:

TWEAK by Nic Sheff

THE BAD ONE by Erin Tyler

WASTED by Marya Hornbacher

2: Stop Multi-Tasking

It doesn't matter what two things you are doing at the same time. STOP.

Whether you like to text while you watch movies or listen to a podcast when you drive or cook or mindlessly scroll social media.

Texting when you are doing something else is a great indicator that the thing you are doing is not worth your time (i.e. you are doing it to fill time/space in your life).

By focusing on one task at a time, you allow yourself to engage in the present and reconnect with your mind and body (i.e. if you are paying attention to how you feel when you are watching a movie, you might realize you want to stop watching it and do something else, instead of picking up your phone and doing both on autopilot).

3: Quiet Time

How many times have you been stressed out and had the thought "I just want to be left alone right now" but then when you are alone, you find something to keep you company, like your phone or computer or roommate?

This is an example of ignoring our gut feelings.

A great way to reconnect with your emotions is to find that alone time and actually spend it...alone.

No phone, no computer, no pet, no friends, nothing there to distract you. Literally nothing.

If your "gut feeling" is that not doing anything is...not going to help you in any way, that's probably your fear talking, not you.

Just try it out for thirty minutes once a week to start out. If it's hard, it means it's working.

4: Keep a Diary

I do this at least once a week with no rules on length.

The point is not to focus on the writing. The point is to go through your day or week and reflect on some of the events that stood out and maybe some of the lessons you learned or didn't learn.

Pro tip: Pretend that you are writing this for your unborn children. Start every entry with Dear Kiddo.

Forget about the bullshit argument that you will look back on your diary two years after starting it and find a bunch of wisdom in it.

That may or may not happen. The point is not to use this in the future. Focus on what is happening now.

And tell the truth. That's the most important part. Nobody needs to read this. Go wild. Judge. Criticize. Gossip. Do the thing you are embarrassed to do in front of others: love yourself and say kind things, too.

5: Shower Slower

When we suppress traumatic experiences, our body keeps the score. It knows when you've felt an emotion and when you haven't. Look it up if you don't believe me.

One of the best ways to overcome trauma is to reconnect with our bodies. That's why Yoga is so popular.

But I'm not going to ask you to do Yoga because I only preach what I practice.

My solution: slow down when you are in the shower and ACTUALLY feel what you are doing.

Showering is quite a symbolic ritual, if you think about it. And we all do it.

You don't need to take longer showers. Just shower slower. Feel your hands make contact with your arms and legs and chest. Massage the shampoo into your hair. Feel the water tickle your skull.

No one can see you in the shower. Be compassionate with your body. Treat it like you would that of your own child's.

(11/10) Writing Prompt: Pick one item from my list of five above and dismantle it. Let your ego have its say. Maybe you think slower showers sounds stupid and childish. Maybe you've tried keeping a diary in the past and it didn't work for you then.

Don't filter yourself. Just criticize and judge and go all out against the item you picked. Write at least 200 words.

Read it the following morning and notice if any of your feelings have changed.

Regards,

Nick