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This in one picture captures exactly why I keep a diary.
I'll be reminiscing about a time some years ago, feeling feelings about it - but if I want to know what I really felt, I can just look it up
It's powerful and humbling.
how many people log and graph their emotions?
I did when I was trying out CBT and meds using specific questionnaires and charting the results. It was super helpful to figure out what worked and what didn't and have data to back that up.
I know that you mean Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, but I will always giggle like an idiot reading the acronym as Cock and Balls Torture
troubleshooting medications is a great use case, thanks. i assume you wouldnt find it helpful once you settled on the meds?
lots of elderly track their various pain estimates, and its therapeutic for them.
Yeah, I eventually stopped, but it took only a few minutes to go through the answers and record them in a spreadsheet each week, so I kept it up for about two years.
Rofl probably most people too busy just getting by, like surviving. But I write to relax instead of TV or video games usually, so I get pretty wild with it.
I've got a super subjective "emotional compass" doodle that I can quickly scratch out in the margins.
I do wish I'd started sooner, but doubt I'd have had the patience/headspace for this stuff before middle age perspective came a knocking
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There's not a lot of metrics (the potential of getting better healthcare being the exception), that aren't objectively worse globally. I'd be curious what your diary says to that..
I mean it's super self centered, so it comes out mostly as guilt or gratefulness or a stirring like I should be doing more for my community. Pandemic onward it kinda went into overdrive.
Like nowadays I have multiple homeless encampments within 15 minutes walking distance, which was absolutely not the case pre-pandemic.
I've faired alright though, hence the guilt etc
Things that have been improving:
- Global poverty rate (going down)
- Global average lifespan (going up)
- Global literacy rate (going up)
- Global internet access (going up)
- Global infant mortality and maternal mortality (going down)
The reality is, most of the world by many metrics is getting better over time. There are things that threaten this (climate change and increasing authorititarianism) and it has slowed, but overall we are still generally positive trajectory wise. In fact, I would say that in most metrics that matter, we are improving.
The planet is sleep walking into a global climate collapse and an global fascist era like nothing history has ever seen.
Pretending we're not because right now some graphs are curving up because of previous momentum is pretty dangerous.
I did say that healthcare is an exception and most of the stuff you mentioned is healthcare related.. When you're riding the rollercoaster up to the top of the hill, do you think it goes up forever? I don't think any of these positive trends are going to last longer than a generation at BEST.