How Journaling Will Benefit Your Emotional Healing Journey
…From Someone Journaling For Years.
Remember being a middle schooler? When the definition of journaling was limited to sending hate to the world for math homework? Or wishing to kiss that celebrity from some sitcom your family happened to be obsessed with? News flash! It doesn’t change considerably once you grow into an adult.
Although journaling as a practice dates back centuries, journaling therapy has been revolutionary for emotional healing for a few decades. From anxiety to burnout, scientific studies back up the benefits of this act. Whether you’re familiar with it or not, there are no rules or specifics that you need to worry about when you start journaling: it’s entirely dependent on your choice of writing. Neither specific prompts nor word limits. It couldn’t get any easier.
You could enjoy penning down your thoughts on a physical journal, or simply opening your notes app and typing it all out. Both of these ways could be equally beneficial to improving your mental health. Some find the aesthetically pleasing nature of traditional journaling alongside (optional) doodling and calligraphy relaxing, while others prefer the accessibility of the digital choice. It makes little difference in the long run.
There are a dozen ways of spilling your thoughts into a journal. A letter to someone (or yourself), a recollection of some past event, a mere reflection of your daily routine, manifesting a goal…and much more. The cherry on top? No judgment. Be as honest about your feelings towards that unhygienic ex. This makes journaling one of the most helpful and healthy coping mechanisms. You not only come to terms with your emotions — it doesn’t harm anyone along the way.
As mentioned earlier, there are few predetermined rules to journaling. One particular obstacle several struggle with is consistency. Subsequently, it becomes the very reason behind their irregularity. Some set a specific time for the process: immediately after waking up, or before hitting the bed. This technique is quite subjective. While it might help build a routine for some, it could simultaneously form an errand-like relationship with the activity for others. You don’t want to treat it as another tedious chore, but rather the opposite. The trick is to start small. Write about your day, a recent relationship, something troubling you — or something you are excited about! It is easier to plug into the emotional frequency that you presently occupy. With time, you’ll find yourself actively reaching out to journal all your emotional changes throughout your day.
While some prefer to write a grammatically flawless journal — occasionally to improve their writing skills, remember: your journal is yours. Absence of any judgment includes judgment from self. Allow your emotions to flow through freely. This might be difficult for some, but being vulnerable to oneself takes equal (if not, more) time as being vulnerable to others. If the renowned Virginia Woolf was popularly known for incorporating stream of consciousness into her journals, rest assured as you’ll be walking in her footsteps.
While aiding your healing process, the activity will gradually allow you to revisit your emotions. Regular check-ins with yourself provide room to cater to your thoughts later. As you write about your routine, raise questions over past instances. Reframe negative feelings, and appreciate your achievements. Undoubtedly, it isn’t realistic to ramble on a positive note: neither are you expected to do that! Allow yourself to revisit negative experiences when you are in a better place, and congratulate yourself on surviving a hard time. Acknowledge any small achievements that you have made since. Be grateful! Gratitude journaling is a highly beneficial subtype that will allow you to create a sense of appreciation for the mundane, consequently inducing mindfulness.
Ultimately, digital or traditional — your journal is entirely under your control. It took me a while to get the hang of it, you might experience the same. You will undoubtedly savor the process once you familiarize yourself with what makes it special and how it benefits you. Once it becomes a routine ritual, you can feel free to delve into various prompts to sharpen your understanding of its complexities. It all starts with your first sentence. Messy, imperfect, or wrong — it is all yours.
Happy Journaling!
