The fundamentals of Journaling

Journaling is a therapeutic, expressive style of writing. Its primary aim is to allow you to write expressively. To write supporting our feelings.

There are two key tools you need to journal. These are a simply a book and pen, making these appealing will encourage you to use them. Some people favour a computer or notes app on their phone, however, the physical process of writing with a pen and paper is more therapeutic and allows creativity to flow easier.

Four things to keep in mind when starting journaling are:

1.      Keep in mind there is no perfect way to journal, it is up to you how much, or not, you write.

2.      Write in the way that best expresses how you feel, it does not have to be a Shakespearean classic.

3.      You need to be authentic in what you write and be able to re-read it and understand it at a later date.

4.      Be kind to yourself, starting is one of the hardest steps and it will come to you.

Journaling allows us to delve into things that affect our behaviour, past experiences that we may not have been able to process at this time but impact our life now.

It gives us the way to move on from something that we may be emotionally “stuck” behind.

Internally when upsetting or harrowing events occur, we suppress our feelings and cannot process them at the time. We allow events to control and influence every aspect of our lives, we cannot move on and therefore are stuck. 

Writing a diary is free form, whereas journaling is more structured. Usually those writing a journal or focus on one specific prompt or exercise.

Writing a diary is noting what has happened whereas journaling takes it further in terms of analysis of thoughts and emotions. A diary can have less purpose whereas journaling is based around development and predetermined milestones.

Journaling can help in the following ways:

• Reduce stress - bye externalising anxieties it helps acknowledging and processing the triggers

• Regulate emotions - writing expressively can reduce activity in the part of our brain responsible for regulating emotional intensity. Writing can help those with anger/anxiety/emotions calm down.

• Improve overall wellbeing - by the regular writing down of emotions and triggers we become more in tune with ourselves and can save effort suppressing feelings and can relieve pressure on the immune system. 

• Develop emotional intelligence – by being more emotionally aware this can make us more empathetic to others.

• Achieve goals - a study shows that those who journal about their goals were around 40% more likely to achieve them.

• Enhance personal empowerment - by writing down negative experiences empowers us and shows that we are in control.

Journaling is one of the best practices for your feelings, which is especially useful if you tend to suppress your feelings. Many of us haven’t been taught how to recognise our emotions instead we are taught the opposite. That they are inconvenient, embarrassing, or dangerous. So, we walk around not knowing much about the emotions swirling inside our body and brain.

Journaling validates our emotions and reconnects us to what is real. It removes the added layer of self-judgement. When we talk about our emotions, we have a tendency to edit ourselves. 

Journaling also allows us to pen (or pencil!) our difficult emotions and discover insights about what a pain or discomfort means.

Similarly, when we journal consistently, we discover patterns about her emotions and behaviours, making it a lot easier to identify triggers and help manage difficult emotions. 

Consistent journaling facilitates the move towards physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. This is due to the fact that the act of regularly writing down emotions and triggers we become more in tune with ourselves. We learn to recognise our emotions and be control of them rather than dictated by them.

Journal prompts can be a beneficial way to start writing this is because they give you something to write about. They help keep your writing focused and organised. Each week we will be sharing some ideas for journal prompts so make sure you follow our social media channels. These are just a guide for you to use should you wish to.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

·         What made me happy today?

·         What did I accomplish today?

·         What do I love about myself?

People often find this hard; we are usually all too quick to be self-critical, however, the more critical you are on yourself the more critical you become of others. Therefore, on the flip side the more you show yourself love the more love you see in others.