Ten-Cent Spiral Notebook and a Pen

My friend Peter says "When I feel manic my thoughts are racing and swirling like a colorful batch of socks in a clothes dryer. I try to reach in and grab one but I'm are bombarded with another and another. And when the voices are negative it's like a cacophony of knives clanging around in a dryer."
"Wow, I love the images," I said. "Do you know what helps?"
"No."
"If you write your thoughts they have to get in line because you can only write one word at a time. It organizes the swirling tornado into a line, just like walking can only be one step at a time. Trust me, it works. I've spent 20 years in psycho-therapy and the notebook writing works better than anything. All you need is a ten-cent spiral notebook and a pen."