How many of you practice journalling every day? Maybe a few times a week, or just once a week? Or maybe just whenever you feel like writing down your thoughts...? Or maybe you'll read something like this and go "Oh yeah, I used to write in a journal, that was really good, I should start doing that again!"
Or perhaps the concept of journalling is entirely new to you and you don't know the first thing about it. Or maybe a therapist or friend has suggested it to you and you scoffed at the idea. That's fine too, each to their own!
For those of you who aren't familiar, journalling is a common practice in which you write down your current thoughts and feelings for the day, or for that particular moment in time.
There are many benefits to journalling:
1. You can keep track of your moods from day to day, or week to week, or season to season.
2. If you have a problem that you're stuck on, a personal conflict that you don't know how to approach, literally writing about it on paper can significantly help get your mind around it, and to help you see or figure out different solutions or perspectives
3. For emotions such as grief, anger, sadness, injustice, it really helps so much just to write it all out on on paper and to LET IT ALL OUT!!! Anger, grief, shame, sadness are all really difficult emotions to deal with and we tend to squash them down and ignore them as best as we can. But it really is so much healthier to let those emotions out in safe, effective, therapeutic ways such as writing about it.
4. Certain techniques of journalling can increase your positivity and gratitude, especially if you write out gratitudes and positive affirmations each morning. It really does set your mind in to a positive perspective to approach the day. You're much more likely to be in a good mood, be kinder and more patient with people, and smile more throughout the day.
So, how do you get started???
Firstly you need a physical journal. Or you can start up a Journal word document if you prefer to type. But I've tried both methods and there is something much more effective about scrawling out your thoughts and feelings with your fingers, pen on to paper.
You can buy journals/notebooks pretty cheap from lots of different types of stores, newsagents, gift shops, stationary stores, $2 dollar stores, or even just the supermarket. I prefer to invest in a good quality hard-cover notebook with a nice colour or pattern on the front cover so I can spot it easily amongst mess. The pages must be lined as my hand-writing gets pretty crazy if I don't have lines to follow
I also invest in a really good quality pen, always black ink (it's an OCD thing with me, I cannot write in any other colour than black), make sure the pen feels nice to hold. You never know when you're gonna go on a roll and write 20 pages straight about what's been going on in your life and your mind. But hey, it's YOUR journal, you can use different coloured pens to annotate different moods, you can use glitter pens, you can draw things that illustrate your moods and feelings instead of writing them out. Everyone is different.
I ALWAYS put the date on the top of the page before I start writing, so that I can keep track of my moods and events.
If you want, you can literally get started on page 1 by writing "Dear Diary,......today I blahdy blahdy blah xyz", however we're not kids anymore and I think most of us have the capacity to start it a bit more maturely. But hey, it's YOUR journal, no one is ever gonna see it! You can write whatever you want!
This is an easy approach I like to start with:
Example:
Another approach for a specific event or feeling is this:
1. I am feeling ___________ (emotion)
2. I am feeling this way because ________________ (something that happened)
3. Why do I feel this way about what happened?
4. Is there something I could've done differently to affect this feeling?
5. How can I make myself feel differently?
6. Can I apply this to next time?
7. How do I feel now? (pause and reflect on how you feel after writing about it)
If at any point in your journalling your emotions are getting the better of you, or you start feeling worse, darker, sadder, if it becomes too hard, you don't need to continue. Shut the book, put down the pen, and go for a walk outside for some fresh air. Come back to it whenever you feel ready.
The most important part of journalling is that YOU ARE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. No one else is going to read what you have written, unless YOU specifically want to show it to someone such as a therapist or a loved one. But you never ever need to do this, journalling really is just for your own benefit.
I have been journalling on a very regular basis ever since I was about 10 years old. If anyone has any questions about journalling please do not hesitate to ask
Or perhaps the concept of journalling is entirely new to you and you don't know the first thing about it. Or maybe a therapist or friend has suggested it to you and you scoffed at the idea. That's fine too, each to their own!
For those of you who aren't familiar, journalling is a common practice in which you write down your current thoughts and feelings for the day, or for that particular moment in time.
There are many benefits to journalling:
1. You can keep track of your moods from day to day, or week to week, or season to season.
2. If you have a problem that you're stuck on, a personal conflict that you don't know how to approach, literally writing about it on paper can significantly help get your mind around it, and to help you see or figure out different solutions or perspectives
3. For emotions such as grief, anger, sadness, injustice, it really helps so much just to write it all out on on paper and to LET IT ALL OUT!!! Anger, grief, shame, sadness are all really difficult emotions to deal with and we tend to squash them down and ignore them as best as we can. But it really is so much healthier to let those emotions out in safe, effective, therapeutic ways such as writing about it.
4. Certain techniques of journalling can increase your positivity and gratitude, especially if you write out gratitudes and positive affirmations each morning. It really does set your mind in to a positive perspective to approach the day. You're much more likely to be in a good mood, be kinder and more patient with people, and smile more throughout the day.
So, how do you get started???
Firstly you need a physical journal. Or you can start up a Journal word document if you prefer to type. But I've tried both methods and there is something much more effective about scrawling out your thoughts and feelings with your fingers, pen on to paper.
You can buy journals/notebooks pretty cheap from lots of different types of stores, newsagents, gift shops, stationary stores, $2 dollar stores, or even just the supermarket. I prefer to invest in a good quality hard-cover notebook with a nice colour or pattern on the front cover so I can spot it easily amongst mess. The pages must be lined as my hand-writing gets pretty crazy if I don't have lines to follow
I also invest in a really good quality pen, always black ink (it's an OCD thing with me, I cannot write in any other colour than black), make sure the pen feels nice to hold. You never know when you're gonna go on a roll and write 20 pages straight about what's been going on in your life and your mind. But hey, it's YOUR journal, you can use different coloured pens to annotate different moods, you can use glitter pens, you can draw things that illustrate your moods and feelings instead of writing them out. Everyone is different.
I ALWAYS put the date on the top of the page before I start writing, so that I can keep track of my moods and events.
If you want, you can literally get started on page 1 by writing "Dear Diary,......today I blahdy blahdy blah xyz", however we're not kids anymore and I think most of us have the capacity to start it a bit more maturely. But hey, it's YOUR journal, no one is ever gonna see it! You can write whatever you want!
This is an easy approach I like to start with:
Example:
Another approach for a specific event or feeling is this:
1. I am feeling ___________ (emotion)
2. I am feeling this way because ________________ (something that happened)
3. Why do I feel this way about what happened?
4. Is there something I could've done differently to affect this feeling?
5. How can I make myself feel differently?
6. Can I apply this to next time?
7. How do I feel now? (pause and reflect on how you feel after writing about it)
If at any point in your journalling your emotions are getting the better of you, or you start feeling worse, darker, sadder, if it becomes too hard, you don't need to continue. Shut the book, put down the pen, and go for a walk outside for some fresh air. Come back to it whenever you feel ready.
The most important part of journalling is that YOU ARE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. No one else is going to read what you have written, unless YOU specifically want to show it to someone such as a therapist or a loved one. But you never ever need to do this, journalling really is just for your own benefit.
I have been journalling on a very regular basis ever since I was about 10 years old. If anyone has any questions about journalling please do not hesitate to ask
