An Addiction to Journals...

For those of you out there that keep a blog, you may be able to relate to the fact that sometimes a topic will appear to you and your blog will practically write itself. Needless to say, even though the topic of this post was planned to be about something totally different, I felt compelled to write about journaling and found that the idea of keeping a journal seemed to continuously and magically work its way into my life and my conversations with various people throughout the week.


As a teenager and a young adult, I battled clinical depression for a number of years and my Mum would regularly suggest I keep a journal to "get all those negative feelings out." Unlike its high school counterpart, the idea of keeping a journal no longer appeals to me as a place to pour out details of smooches under the kissing tree at school or talk about how cute so-and-so is, but I have found it to be a very useful tool in regards to investigating how I feel about issues that arise in my life and things that I am feeling or dealing with at that time. It was a fairly recent decision to begin a journal during this chapter of my life but I can tell you I have already become quite acquainted with my new red bound diary (who I like to refer to as Betsy) and I now try to "chat" with her on a nightly basis if I can. Betsy has become almost like a pen-pal who is always available to listen when I need and without offering any direct advice, she always seems to show me how I feel about certain situations and helps me to see how I could best deal with it... and it would seem I'm not the only one! In a wave of conversations with friends and family, I realised journaling seems to have taken my social circle by storm and all reviews are positive!

So why is journaling such an effective tool? In speaking with friends and through my experience, I have found journaling helps to trim the branches of your sequential thinking and allows you to see your thoughts and feelings from outside the box. This can be especially useful as it can be particularly hard to see the best way to deal with issues you are experiencing when you are dealing with them in a direct or first person mode; Journaling allows you to take a step back and almost approach them as if they were happening to a friend or as something outside of yourself. Not only that, but it also allows you to lay out your goals and aspirations in a very clear way and offers you the chance to look back at a later date and access your progress or how you or your life has changed over time. But don't take my word for it, medical professionals have been advocating the use of journals since the 60's! Psychologist Ian Progoff, for example, found journaling to be a very effective method of growth for adults and in 1975, he stated that journaling could "draw each person's life toward wholeness at its own tempo," and that it "systematically evokes and strengthens the inner capacities of persons working from a non-medical vantage point." ["Uses and Benefits of Journal Writing" Roger Hiemstra, 2002]

There are many ways you can go about creating and keeping a journal and I really encourage you to take full advantage of your creativity here! This is your journal, there are absolutely no rules or regulations of how you choose to approach it and you really can take this as far as you want to! Personally, as stated, my journal began as a small bound notebook where I wrote mainly about things that were going on in my life and issues I was facing. However, I have since thought that there are absolutely thousands of ways you could expand on this traditional concept which will help your journal practise to evolve and flourish! For example, for those of you who like to draw or paint, a journal is the perfect place for you to get creative and explore art forms which express certain feelings or emotions and this is also a great opportunity to incorporate photographs or pictures, either taken or obtained, which really evoke raw emotion in you. Another great addition for your journal could be poetry, quotes or lyrics that you have either written or find inspirational and fitting to what you are experiencing. Some people also like to incorporate life stories, sort of like short memoirs, in their journals, write letters to future children, grandchildren or loved ones for after they are gone or even include dreams and visions that they have had. The mind just boggles!

In regards to frequency, I don't believe there is a certain amount of journaling you need to do for the process to be effective. As we discussed, this journal is yours to do with as you will so it should never become a chore or something you put off. I try to write every day but if I don't get round to it, I'm not going to beat myself up about it! Some people like to set very specific journal goals, for example journaling once per day, but if you do, I would encourage you to be flexible otherwise you may disappoint yourself if you set high expectations and find you end up writing less. A good way to start is by journaling whenever you have something to say on a somewhat regular basis until it becomes a normal part of your schedule. Having said that, some sort of regular journaling, whether it be once daily or weekly, certainly has its advantages; you will have a clearer idea of where you are at & how far you have come if you are writing regularly. An irregular journal can almost be compared with a Monet; while you definitely get an idea of what you're looking at, the little details tend to be missing. Personally, I discovered journaling to be quite addictive and once I had started, I found myself tempted to 'chat' with Betsy even more than once a day!


So, with all that in mind, this weeks challenge is all about creating your own journal and using your creativity to get the absolute most out of the process! Don't forget we would all love to hear how this worked for you, please feel free to share your own experience with the group!

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." William Wordsworth

Week Two:
Create a journal and use it regularly to express the desires & notions of your heart!