Journaling is not just for teenagers. It’s a tool used my many people around the world. There have been several studies documenting the mental health benefits of expressive journal writing. Some benefits include reducing mental stress and anxiety, reducing depression, clarifying and organizing your thoughts, boosting your mood, increasing your sense of well being and outlook on the world around you.
Now with the world getting faster and crazier every year, sitting in a cozy corner with a hot cup of tea writing our fear, doubts and sadness away sounds like a good exercise to put in our daily routine.
How To Start
1. You can use a notebook, a binder or purchase a journal with writing prompts to help you start. Whatever makes you comfortable with writing.
2. Write everyday. It doesn’t have to be a novel. Journaling everyday will get you in the habit of expressing your feelings. The good, bad and ugly.
3. Don’t sensor yourself, don’t stop to correct punctuation or spelling mistakes. Write whatever comes to mind. The point of journaling is to get your feelings and stress out of your mind and release it somewhere else. Don’t be afraid to let it all out. Some of the phrases I use to start off are:
- Today I feel
- You will never guess what happened to me
- I'm looking forward to
- I want to accomplish these 3 things this week
- I need to say goodbye to these things because
- I feel safe when
- The best thing(s) happened today
- I feel bad that
- I’m so thankful that
- I could never say this out loud
- My dream is to
- I want to [fill in the blank], but I don't because [fill in the blank]. Elaborate
- My dream life would look like this
- I have learned these 3 things about myself. Can be any number you want.
4. Write until you start to feel better or until you have nothing more to say. You will probably notice that after you release all of the negative emotions you had bottled up, you have room for the positive emotions to come in.
5. It’s not going to be perfect. You are writing for yourself an no one else. So it doesn’t have to be the best grammar or have lots of similes and metaphors or poetic prose. It’s you, raw and open.
6. Speak it or write it. Some people are better at expressing themselves verbally. Or you may have trouble writing for long periods of time. If that is the case, get a recorder and just talk. Keep talking until you feel better.
Types of Journals
Besides an expressive journal, there are other types of journaling styles that you can use depending on your needs.
Gratitude Journals
A daily gratitude journal is a great way to acknowledge everything that is right in your world. You may be thankful for family and friends or because the lady at the bakery gave you an extra bagel or cupcake and you got to taste a new flavor. Being grateful for the small things, helps you pay less attention to the things that are not perfect in your life.
Vision Journal
A vision journal is a depiction of what you want your life to be in picture form. Like a vision board, but more. You can categorize it and write captions beneath the photos. The key is to keep this journal close to you for your inspiration to keep moving forward.
Daily Journal
This journal is more like a checklist of things you need to get accomplished. I keep one one my desk to organize my day and on my bedside table to write down thoughts and actions I should follow up on the next day so I can rest easy.
No matter what type of journaling you decide to start, it will benefit you emotionally. Grab a notebook and start writing!