A Write Funk

One way to tackle thoughts you can’t let go of – the thoughts that keep you up at night – is to state the facts.

I have been reading a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) resource that recommends taking an objective look at your problems; be like a Reporter and record the facts. Taking an objective look at the facts can help you untangle yourself from the emotions that surround tricky problems.

You can even take this a step further: write your problem into a short newspaper article.

Here’s an example:

A simple car service went wrong for Perth resident, Matthew Dalton, when the garage he took his car to failed to complete the agreed service.

“It’s a disgrace,” said Dalton. “They should’ve told me they weren’t able to finish the work.”

Dalton is accusing the garage of charging him a service fee for balancing and rotating his cars tyres, work Dalton says was not done.

Dalton noticed that something was not right when he saw his car in the collection area.

“It should’ve been cleaned as part of the service but it wasn’t,” said Dalton. “I had a look around the car and noticed that the wheels hadn’t been rotated and there was a grease stain on the backseat.”

A spokesman for the garage says that they are sorry this has occurred.

“Sometimes things slip through the cracks,” the spokesmen said. “Obviously we will do our best to rectify the situation for Mr Dalton.”

Dalton says that he feels that this is a poor excuse, but he is prepared to give the garage a chance to put things right.

Writing can help you deal with your problems.

Is there anything it can’t do?