Many recovering alcoholics are encouraged to keep a journal of their journey towards sobriety. Some people use cathartic writing exercises whereby they will spend five or ten minutes writing everything they think and feel about their relationship with alcohol on a given day in an attempt to release them from their current emotional state. Others will write lengthier and more reflective journal entries, often in the format of a publicly available blog, to help them. Both methods are designed to achieve the same outcome. Where alcoholics have used drink in the past as an emotional prop to help them deal with stress or sadness, for example, the basic idea is to use writing as a non-addictive alternative. The method is often found to be particularly beneficial if the recovering alcoholic does not have access to a talking therapy group for whatever reason and needs another activity as a backup.