Journaling and Why You Should Try It.

Last week I wrote on the last page of my journal. This is not a new experience it has happened a number of times since I started journaling in my early 20’s. But it’s always an oddly bittersweet experience for me. On one had I love picking out a new journal to continue my story in, but it also feels like something is ending when I finish a journal. But one thing remains the same, when I go to tuck that journal away in the box with the rest of the filled journals, I take a few minutes and flip through old entries. That time of reflection is usually interesting and serves as a reminder to me of where I have been and how much I have grown and changed in the last decade or so. As I flipped through old journals this time I got to thinking about how helpful journaling has been to me over the years and how much it has helped my clients as well.

Every journal I've ever filled :)

Journaling is one of the first things I recommend to the majority of my clients. Here are the main reasons why:

1. Bringing Clarity

This is the main reason I journal. But I also occasionally have a client that comes in and during intake struggling to put into words what they are thinking and feeling or they know what they are feeling but they can’t pinpoint what is causing that. Free journaling or stream of consciousness journaling can be very helpful in bringing more clarity or sense to what you are thinking and feeling. I encourage people to just write whatever is on their mind without concern for it making sense or flowing from one paragraph to the next. After all this isn’t a college term paper. I personally will sometimes sit down and decide I am going to journal until I literally have nothing left to say.

2. Remembering the Good

Gratitude journals have become very popular recently. People are wanting to stay focused on things they are grateful for rather than all the negatives, which can bring an excellent balance to our tendency to focus on what is going wrong. When I have a client that is not super comfortable with free journaling or tends to get stuck in a really negative place I recommend that they try structuring their journaling based on this template I got from Duff the Psych. It provides some space to free write about whatever you want. There is also a space to write 3 things you are proud of that have occurred since you last journaled and space to list 3 goals you have for that day. I have used this template before and at times it can be difficult, but that’s okay it’s supposed to be.

3. Keep an eye on yourself

Are you thinking about making some changes or setting a new goal for yourself? Journaling can be a great way to track your progress. You can track the concrete parts of your goal but you can also have space to process your emotions about the changes you are making and identify the places that are tripping you up. Journaling through the process of change can help you catch yourself when you are slipping into old patterns and help you see that progress is being made even when it doesn’t feel like it.

4. Get it out

Sometimes we truly need to just vent about a situation or how we are feeling. Journaling is a great way to do that. When you write it down you are getting it out of your brain and on the page and when you are done you can walk away having purged some of the. . .ick. Often times after a good journaling session I feel as though I have had a good conversation with a good friend. And that really is what a journal can be. . .a good friend that is always available and will never tell a soul what you said.

5. Time to Reflect

As I mentioned above I often take a few minutes to reflect on old entries when I have finished another journal. This is one of my favorite things about journaling. I can look back at where I have been and how much I have grown and changed over the years. It’s important to take this time to reflect on your journey and take note of the progress you have made and ask are you headed in the direction you want to be headed in. Whether you throw your journal out when it’s full or you have a growing box of journals tucked away somewhere (like me) take a few minutes every once in a while to flip through old entries.

My recommendation is that everyone give journaling a try and get creative. There is no rule book that says journaling has to be written word only. I think the written part is important but I have also incorporated song lyrics, drawing and collaging into my journals. Whatever I felt was going help be best express myself at the time. Recently I had a client that was a much better verbal processor than a written processor so he would do audio journal entries. Journaling options are only limited by your creativity.

So give it a shot and see what you think. If you are comfortable with free journaling get yourself a blank journal and go to town. If you are a little less sure of where to get started give the template by Duff the Psych a try, or you can go to Amazon and find tons of journals that will provide you with prompts to get you started. I will include a couple of links below to examples.  Happy journaling.