One of the biggest things that we can do to maintain our mental health is by writing. Journaling is not writing down everything you think or feel, it is writing about what you observe and experience. When you are journaling you are sharing your thoughts with yourself. This is important because your thoughts affect your life. Asking yourself questions like what is this feeling I am having? What does this look like to me?
Journaling is also a way for you to keep track of the thoughts that you have throughout the day. You can start by writing down your thoughts each morning when you wake up. As you notice thoughts or feelings arise, write them down. This will help you to capture your feelings and turn them into memories later in the day.
In the beginning you might want to start out writing down only a few thoughts. As you start to get comfortable journaling more thoughts and feelings come to you. You can then begin to take some notes about what you observed. For instance you might note what you observed today about your boss. What did you think? Did you find that he was being difficult or not effective at his job?
Note your observations on your notes. Was there something that made you feel that he was being unfair to you? Did you notice something that concerned you about the way he was leading you? These thoughts and feelings are very valuable because they help you think about what it is you should do about it.
After you capture your thoughts and feelings, write them down again. Then you can begin to evaluate those thoughts and feelings for clarity and understanding. Journaling is not just about recording your feelings. It is about what you learn from your reflections.
Journaling allows you to develop your personal notebook. Over time you will come to recognize your own handwriting. If you notice certain words and phrases repeatedly in your own thoughts and feelings, then that means you are developing handwriting of your own. The important thing to remember is that writing should be an expression of yourself. If writing starts out as an expression of what you feel, then writing becomes a therapy for your mental health.
What is journaling to you may seem trivial to someone else. But to you it is a vital exercise in your mental health. Journaling allows you to monitor your thoughts and feelings and to see how they are influencing you. You can then make choices about how to respond to what is going on in your life.
Journaling can be a wonderful gift to yourself and to others. It is a great exercise to use to enhance your mental health. Journaling also gives you a way to express your creativity, intuition, and sense of adventure. It helps you make connections and to reflect on your life and the things that are happening to you.
Writing by hand is relaxing and allows you to feel closer to the things you write about. In addition, it allows you to explore your emotions more fully. Journaling gives you the opportunity to try on different attitudes and to live through them when you write.
Sometimes we become so preoccupied with everyday events that our writing can suffer. We get so caught up in what we are doing and what we are reading that we fail to stop and look at our writing. When you are looking at your own writing, rather than analyzing what you are writing about, you will be able to appreciate it more. You can learn what is journaling when you are looking at your own writing process. This will help you know when it is time to step back from the writing process and to examine the deeper meaning.
What is journaling to you may seem trivial to someone else. But, to you, it is vital to your survival as a human being and as an emotional being. When you learn what is journaling, you are giving yourself permission to capture your own thoughts and feelings. You can then use that information for personal growth and insight. It will help you understand your own thoughts and feelings so that you can better understand and control those thoughts and feelings.
Journaling is an important part of the therapeutic process. When you are in therapy, your therapist will ask you about your personal writing and how it relates to your own thoughts and feelings. The more you write, the more you will learn about yourself. Journaling can help you to express those inner conflicts and to discover new insights.
Lisa is a lifestyle article writer for a local newspaper. Aside from that, she is part-time English teacher on a high school. She also speaks at seminars and workshops. She is currently living with her husband and two kids.