Journaling

“Journaling is a vehicle of emotional exploration, a way to channel difficult feelings into healthy and creative outcomes.”

Raychelle C. Lohmann, MS, LPC

Journaling is the best way to keep track of ideas, life events, lessons in life, emotional highs and lows, and so much more so you can reflect and recollect at a later date. Think of a journal as a running tab of life’s events. The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it, just like weight lifting. No pain, no gain!

You can write what you want, no need to reveal it to anyone, not even grandma! You can settle hatred for people, come to terms with failures in life, work out an emotional crisis, even deal with voices that may haunt you when you’re mentally ill. You can write gibberish if that’s all you’re capable of at the time and sort it out through several different entries.

Write your deepest thoughts and emotions by putting words to your inner life and then writing these words down. Self-reflection is a healthy act that can lead to a better you. Write what you think, write what you want to think, write how you want to think, and eventually you will train yourself to convey these thoughts through your actions.

Journal writing is a safe space for a person of any age to explore themselves in a non-judgmental way that may reveal the real inner you. Your journal belongs to you! Be as frank as you want, as flamboyant as you want, be yourself. You can spin negative emotions and actions into a new you through an exploration of yourself.

Think of the famous people who’ve had their journals published: Anne Frank, Virginia Woolf, C. S. Lewis, Ronald Reagan, and Oscar Wilde. How did journaling help them cope in tough times? Did they seek the solace of pen and paper often? You bet! So can you and here are some guides to help: