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Most readers arrive here after a few weeks of journaling or focus drills, wondering whether they are doing it right or whether they should be talking to someone. These are the answers I give most often.
Still unsure where to start? The questions page collects the longer answers, and if you would rather write directly, the contact page is the place for that.
A few plain statements about what this blog is, what it is not, and how to read the notes on it. Worth skimming before you take anything here as advice.
Nothing on this site is therapy, diagnosis or medical guidance. The drills, journaling prompts and focus habits are self-directed practice written by someone who reads widely and experiments on himself. If your sleep has been broken for weeks, if your thoughts loop no matter how often you write them down, or if daily routines start to feel like punishment, that is a signal to speak to a psychologist, counsellor or your GP. The post on when journaling stops helping covers that line in more detail.
When a post says a reframing drill worked, that means it worked for one person over a specific stretch of weeks, with a particular job, sleep pattern and set of habits. Brain retraining is slow and uneven. Some readers notice a shift in a fortnight; others run the same exercise for two months and see nothing. Both outcomes are normal, and the honest write-ups here include the flops alongside the wins.
If you are already seeing a therapist, treat these notes as something to bring into that room rather than a parallel track. Mention the exercises you are trying, including the ones that are not landing. A clinician can tell you whether a habit fits what you are working on, and can flag when a routine is doing more harm than good.
Book notes are summaries in my own words, not quotes lifted wholesale, and I name the title so you can check the original. Posts get revised when a reader points out something I got wrong or when a longer experiment changes the picture; the date at the top reflects the last edit. Mailbag questions are published with names shortened unless you ask otherwise. If something here does not match your experience, that is useful information, and you are welcome to write in.
One more thing: this is an independent blog. There are no sponsored routines, no affiliate recommendations, and no products to buy. If a post points you somewhere, it is because that is where I went.
This page is for the point where a drill, a journal prompt or a six-week experiment has done what it can, and you still need a person. Below are the ways to reach the blog directly, plus the practical details of when replies happen and what to expect if you write in.
267 Conradie Lodge Apt. 175
East Anthony, NW 4569
Letters and printed reader notes are read in batches, usually once a week.
Best for mailbag questions, corrections and requests to be pointed at a specific post.
It is not a crisis line and not a clinical service. If you are in immediate distress, contact a local emergency number or your doctor. For ongoing difficulties, a registered psychologist or counsellor is the right next step, and the post on when journaling stops helping walks through how to find one in South Africa.