Journaling: Sometimes you just feel like writing.
Throughout the week I find myself needing to take inventory and express things that I may have a hard time verbalizing. I have a difficult time expressing myself and sharing how I feel in conversation. That is where journaling comes in. I write a few times per week and it helps me in a variety of ways. The importance of journaling include; expressiveness, reduce anxiety, achieve goals, emotional regulation, improves mindfulness and allows future readers to learn of you and from you. I keep three journals. One for when I am depressed, one for anxiety, and one for manic episodes. This may sound a little excessive or confusing, but it allows me to better understand myself and how to deal with issues in a more defined way. It helps me to organize my thoughts and categorize them into something I can differentiate from one emotion to another.
Journaling can have many benefits for mental and emotional well-being, including:
Journaling can help you identify negative thoughts and behaviors, and practice introspection. Introspection is the examination or observation of one’s own mental or emotional processes. It can also help you become more aware of your emotions and how to respond to them with patience and curiosity instead of judgment. I go over conversations in my mind that I have throughout the day and week and wish I would have said things differently or in addition to what was said. When I write these thoughts down it helps me to better understand the intent of the communication and helps me socially as I often feel awkward engaging with others, especially those who I do not know.
Writing down goals can make them feel more real and motivate you to achieve them. Reviewing your goals frequently can help you keep focus and give you the drive and motivation you need to follow in the direction you want to go. You can also use your journal to track your progress and challenges. Goals are important to me as they give me a sense of accomplishment. I like to make lists of things I want to do or accomplish. Ongoing goals are a great way to keep me going. Sometimes goals are as simple as tracking your sleep, documenting your diet, and workout routine.
Journaling can help people heal faster and reduce the likelihood of getting sick. Some of the benefits include reduced pain, fatigue, and anxiety. Wellness journaling combines the emotional benefits of a diary with the physical benefits of tracking what’s going on with your body. Understanding the physical state of your body is as important as knowing your mental state.
Journaling is important in reminding you of things you have experienced, good or bad. Remembering the good can help to motivate and inspire you and give you hope that you can achieve again and give you a sense of gratitude because of it. Being reminded of the bad can help you to not repeat bad decisions you may have made in the past. Preserving memories is also helpful for those who are to come. Family members can read about you and your experiences, choices, failures, and successes. This can allow them to feel connected to you and help them to see where they came from.
Reading and rereading your journal can help you to find focus and give reminders of things like your goals and also to help you in social situations. It can be somewhat of a road map to help you navigate through life by reminding yourself of the things that you took time to write about. If you write about it and record it, that means that it is important to you and by reviewing what you took the time to write about. It further validates your feelings at the time of writing. It can bring back the emotion and memory of the thing you wrote about.
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