Put the Plumbum to the Paper
Photo Credit: @hudsoncrafted
Hello Sobertown,
Plumbum? Plumbum is lead. Did you know lead pencils aren’t made with lead, it was always graphite and just called lead because of the ancient Roman stylus with lead tips. Anyhow, Moving on.
Creating positive thought patterns and personal growth is a difficult thing to accomplish. As with training our body it requires repetition of daily habits and regular work. I liken shifting our pessimism and improving self talk to playing a game of pong with your own mind. Back and forth the pong ball bounces blip, blip, bouncing off of each paddle. The paddle on one side is blocking access to the sub conscious mind. You give yourself praise or positive self talk and “blip” it bounces back, you try again another day “blip” blocked and bounced back. Your mind fires back negativity, anger and pessimism and you miss the ball with your paddle and it goes through. Creating a shift in your psyche toward positive thoughts for me is all about persistence, keep playing that game of pong and use journaling and thankfulness strategies to improve and as the days go by and the work continues the game speeds up and your skills improve whereby the negative thoughts and self deprecation is blocked and rejected and you begin to fire back positivity on sharp and acute angles so the sub conscious fails to block and they pass through. You keep journaling for enough time and eventually you win the game of pong and the positivity passes through more often than not. Repetition and duration is the key.
Have you ever spent a while invested in the contents within your phone, using an app or perhaps social media, staring at the screen like a zombie and very much on autopilot scrolling, reading, responding and then even after a significant time has passed you look up and readjust to the real world only to realise far more time has flown by than you thought would have and that you can actually barely recall all of the activities or responses you just engaged in. You know you replied to a few posts, checked a few things, became annoyed at a post and so on but in a way you feel like that time disappeared into thin air and like it never existed. Research shows us that using a screen and typing into a digital keyboard results in poorer recall and learning than physically writing something down on paper with ink or otherwise, this effect amplified if we enter what I would call zombie mode using our phones which let’s face it we do a lot of the day, some of us more than others however the habit is common.
When we implement our tools to begin an alcohol free life, we gain from recording multiple aspects of our journey, we benefit from journaling and from completing exercises. We will benefit greatly from touching pencil or pen to paper to record our thoughts, to use our exercises and tools. Especially if you are early in this journey or yet to begin, record as much as you can, write down your feelings, experiences and thoughts, these are valuable if not to you then to others and you may come to use this information down the track. The point of this article is that there is real benefit to writing with a real pen filled with ink as opposed to typing into the keypad of a phone or a laptop. My opinion is that there is a combination of daily writing that will be best suited to you, I have a combination of daily recordings which I find best suited to helping me and this may or may not be the combination you benefit from most. I will explain a ritual I complete daily and you can then develop and take or leave aspects you believe would be helpful to you, likely this will be as it was for me, trial and error.
To begin with I will explain why:
Multiple studies have been performed investigating the effectiveness of learning through handwriting vs. typing into a keyboard/phone. Results show adults had a superior recognition of new characters being learned through physical handwriting as opposed to typing into keyboards, other studies showed more words could be recalled after handwriting than typing into a keyboard. Preschool children demonstrated superior learning through handwriting over typing and handwriting also seems to be more effective in conceptual comprehension with notes taken by university students by pen and paper resulting in superior comprehension of lecture material than those recording notes digitally. The only form of digital recording which retained a minimal difference in learning when compared to paper was writing on a tablet or screen with a digital pen where differences did exist in learning but not as measurably or significantly as the comparison between paper and keyboards (1).
The message from the above information is this: When using techniques which involve writing something down, of which there are many in which assist in the process of quitting alcohol, writing on real paper with a real pen will be more helpful for you than entering in information on your phone, tablet or laptop.
Now we know this not at all surprising information, let me recommend one thing. If you happen to be reading this and have not yet started your journey into an alcohol free life then you can action this from day 1. If you are already steaming ahead with your alcohol free journey, it is never too late to begin.
My best advice on this topic is to obtain a journal, lined notebook or diary. Take your time to find exactly the right one. This is an extremely important piece of your journey. This book or diary will be a daily external version of your mind, an outlet and a reminder. This will build positivity and optimism allowing focus on the simple yet important things which go well every day and our mind overlooks and ignores. When seeking your notebook or diary think about size, portability, binding, design, outlay, think about everything because you will use this every single day, often multiple times so it should be easy to use and exactly what you need. I say this because I shuffled between multiple types of notepad before I found the right size and type, one diary had annoying large binder rings which since writing on it every day became frustrating with the angle I was forced place my hand on, the other was a cheap notebook which because of the frequent use started to fall apart at the staples due again to its daily use. Finally I settled on an A4 large and tough diary with plenty of space and no annoying binding rings, simple things you don’t consider to begin with.
We can train our mind, little tiny bit by little tiny bit to shift toward a more positive mode of thinking, to see nice little things which go well or to enter a thought pattern more optimistically than we otherwise may have, as with everything I tell you, the exact same applies here. Time. Repetition. Time and repetition is what is required for these strategies to have any noticeable effect on your life and a logical mindset, this is not magic and not likely to cure any and all mental ailments but it absolutely does benefit your life and acute mental state. Writing is and always has been an effective may to transfer emotion and thoughts from your mind to the paper, it is also a great way to learn and to reinforce important quotes or learning as well as gradually shift your attitude, like having a friend nearby to unload mental frustrations to at any time.
To explain how writing can help to shift your mindset gradually picture these following examples:
You bought a new car, or old car, you have a new car, your car is a little red buzz box and you love it. You never noticed many of this model on the road previously. Suddenly they are everywhere, you feel like every third person has one, why?
You have running lessons with a coach, you have pointed out to you the flaws in your style, the damage you could be doing by using your current technique and the loss in efficiency. You change over time and now you run with excellent form. Now though, you see others running and you immediately see their form, you see the flaws in their technique and you critique them deeply. Weird, you never would have even looked twice in the past.
You see our mind seeks patterns, our mind seeks confirmation of what we already believe and our mind is exceptionally efficient at almost completely ignoring or blocking what it finds to be “noise” or unimportant information. Choosing to see things relevant to you and your existence because you are the star of your own show, you decide what it or is not important. While you might find the styling of a ring useless information, a jeweller may see the depth of skill and materials as essential information. You will see what you want to see, you will think how you are accustomed to thinking and you will ignore what you believe to be irrelevant.
If it fires together, it wires together. When we use positive reinforcement and focus on what went well, being thankful and optimistic outlooks we can over time nudge our set point further toward positivity, again, this is not to say all of a sudden we become totally different people with incredible pure positivity, but it helps, it really does help to write, to focus on the right things and to see the good and record it.
Here is how I do it, there is no one correct combination, many people use one of these alone, some people use more, some less. Some people write theirs on the shower glass in the steam rather than on paper, some write a lot some write a little, this is yours to adapt and to mould so play with aspects of it and add and subtract whatever helps you but I can say with certainty, these daily writings help me and they help many others, the investment of time is worthwhile. Below I will detail daily writing practices I employ.
Mantra/Affirmation: This is the most valuable in my opinion. Develop a daily affirmation relevant and meaningful to you. For example “I am Strong, I am Sober. I am Fit, I am Focussed, today I will be the best that I can be”.
BS (this stands for either Brain Splatter OR Bullshit - depending on the day and content): General thoughts and record of notable occurrences or feelings from the day. Just head junk, whatever you feel like writing down.
What Went Well (WWW): List a minimum of 3 things that went well that day. This could be very simple things such as a neighbour waved and smiled or on a bad day perhaps it is simply I made it though a tough day. It could be great achievements too, but some days simple things that went well suffice.
Thankful For (TF) or Thank F$c* For (TFF): Write at least 3 things you are genuinely thankful for. There are two types of thankfulness, specific or general for example being thankful for the Sun rising is a VERY general thing to be thankful for whereas being thankful for your partner cooking a lovely meal is very specific. If you can be genuinely thankful fro something general such as the air we breathe then go for it but most of us need to be at least somewhat specific to feel a genuine sense of thankfulness. The more items each day you can write down as being thankful for the better as 3 is a good minimum but 20 is great. The more you write down each day with meaning and thought the better able you will be to shift that mindset in the right direction.
(WQ) Weekly Quote: Each week I find a quote and record it. Weekly is better than daily as repeating the same quote for 7 days reinforces it and you end up being able to recall and repeat the quote rather than forgetting it.
(WW) Weekly Word: Each week I record a new word, usually an odd word I have not heard before. A simple google search of unique or strange words will reveal many options. Record the word and its definition. As with the quote it is useful to repeat the word you use for a week to revisit it and reinforce its definition in your head. You will likely find yourself discussing or trying to use this odd new word in your day which is fun and interesting.
Fit: Every day I record what I did for my fitness. This may be a workout, it may be a ride, or on a rest day I will record that it was a well earned rest day. Record how the workout felt for example in powerlifting a rating of RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) is used by lifters and their trainers to rate a workout, alternatively RIR (Reps in Reserve) can also be an indication of subjective intensity of a workout or lifting session. You could also simply rate anything, for example you went for a walk and you thoroughly enjoyed it, you felt good, the weather was nice and so you write in this section “5km walk, lovely day, 9/10 :)”. Record anything you do for your bodily fitness that day and rate or discuss it however you see fit.
These are my personal daily writings and recordings and they help me to feel better, to shift thoughts from mind to paper, to learn a couple of small things every day from which I can draw inspiration and to stay focussed on my body and fitness as well as my mind. You can create your own ritual, perhaps starting with just what went well or thankful sections and growing from there as you find yourself ready might be a good strategy as this is how mine developed.
Aside from having a routine daily writing strategy you will likely find you now have a place for other random daily information, notes, book recommendations or general thoughts. Eventually all sorts will be located here and you will have great external mind as a record and companion or reference. At the end of the day, if paper is just not for you, this can be done on one of many great applications on a phone, on email or word documents or other tech based options but I stand firm in my belief that the most effective and best way to complete this exercise daily is on paper.
How does this relate to quitting alcohol? Simple, leaving alcohol behind is about so much more than just leaving alcohol alone, it is a broad and all encompassing journey in personal growth. This is simply a positive and reliable method to help you grow and improve your outlook and life.
So put the plumbum to the paper Sobertown, or something like that.
Todd Crafter (Sobertown Resident)
AHPRA Registered Chiropractor/FA Registered Trainer
BAppSc(human movement), BHSc(chiro), MClinChiro
REFERENCE
(1): Osugi K, Ihara AS, Nakajima K, Kake A, Ishimaru K, Yokota Y and Naruse Y (2019) Differences in Brain Activity After Learning With the Use of a Digital Pen vs. an Ink Pen—An Electroencephalography Study. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 13:275. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00275
To contact the author please email soberaustralia@gmail.com
The Sobertown Blog articles and recordings are created as a means of assisting others in achieving and maintaining sobriety and freedom from alcohol. Experiences, entries, research and article content are that of the author and should be applied in a safe manner deemed best by the reader and applied safely, if relevant, with medical oversight. This is not medical advice and the author is not a medical doctor. No advice within is based on or crosses over with the authors profession or professional opinion as an AHPRA registered allied health practitioner or FA registered exercise professional.
