Talking to myself

Let me speak to myself softly

My sketchbooks are where I have therapeutic conversations with myself. Like this sketchbook page from earlier this week when I felt anxious.

I find it helpful to take a strong feeling, like anxiety, and role play with it. I pretended I was having a conversation with my best friend and she’d asked “what are some ways I can be less anxious?” Then I brainstorm the possible answers to the question as honestly as I can on a scrap of paper. When I have thought of a reply I rewrite my reply as legibly as I can in my sketchbook. I write my self-talk in the form that I do so that my sketchbooks become a helpful resourcebook for my future self. I can pick up this sketchbook page years from now and understand what I wrote.

I chose to draw a cat looking out a window and all of the other elements on the sketchbook page because they felt soothing to me during the anxious moment I was having. The effort to focus, to create the drawing and give it color helped me get out of my anxious headspace.

Anxiety happens and will likely happen again so a review of what's helped me in the past is valuable. So is seeing a calming image. It's reusable self-care.

Here are some of my most regular therapeutic conversation tools: bound sketchbooks, pens, watercolor pencils, a watercolor set and a water brush. Oh, and a coffee cup as I usually do these therapeutic conversation sessions in the mornings as a way to start a day gently.

I also use simple art supply sets like these from Nil-Tech as it has everything in one zipper case.

I learned the concepts of being careful about my self-talk and having a regular therapeutic conversation with myself from my adopted Dad, a psychiatrist, Dr. Bob Hoke, when I illustrated and worked with him to collect “Dr. Bob's Emotional Repair Program First Aid Kit".

Here below is another sketchbook page from this week. Since it's the holiday season I asked myself what a good gift would be… and this drawing and phrase was my answer.

I hope you have many ways of having gentle therapeutic conversations with yourself this weekend.