I really enjoy going through old journals to see how far I've come, especially in terms of recovery. It's interesting to see how your writing style changes, how your thoughts change, the topics you write about as well as seeing what you still remember. Sometimes we totally forget the nicest memories and that's also a reason why I love journaling: you can never forget any experiences again because you've written everything down in your journal. It's a very comforting feeling that all your memories are kept in a little book.
Maybe you want to start journaling but don't know how to do it, or you already do it and feel like it doesn't benefit you as much. For that reason I have some tips for you:
- Be honest with yourself. I try to be honest with myself when I write but I have to admit that this is very difficult sometimes. There is this fear that maybe someday, I'll read my journal again and think something like "Oh my god, I totally exaggerated back then" or that someone will read my journal and will be totally shocked by what I've written, that they will see me in a different way afterwards. But if you really want to benefit from journaling, you need to be honest with yourself. You won't regret it. What is the point of writing something down which isn't even true? You are writing it for yourself, not anybody else. Your journal is your private place to keep your thoughts in. Additionally, if you will read your journal again after some time, you will easily recognize if you were honest with yourself while writing. You know yourself, your writing style and your thought best, so there's no sense in making up a story that isn't true.
- If you don't know how to start, what to write about, then look up journaling prompts online. You will get to see thousands of questions which you can answer in your journal. It's really interesting as you will think about topics you've never thought of before. As well, these prompts are a good way to get to know yourself better. Here are some I've recently gone through:
- Buy a pretty journal. I don't know why, but somehow having a nice journal helps to keep up with writing. Some good journals I can recommend are those from Paperchase, but I use one from Leuchtturm at the moment.
- Get creative! Some people like to put drawings or stickers in their journals. I myself don't do it (I have a bullet journal for that purpose) because I like to keep it simple. As well if I would befin doing that, I would feel the urge to make each page as creative and colorful as possible. But if you feel like it, totally go for it! You can draw, do some hand lettering, put stickers in it or maybe tickets for example from a movie night at the cinema.
- Don't force it. Every time I force myself to write an entry in my journal, because maybe I haven't written one for like 5 days, but I really don't have anything special to write or tell, I don't seem to find the joy of writing. Every sentence will start with "I went to... Then I did..." which sounds as if it was written by a little child. There are times where I write every day and 2 pages long entries, but some days I just don't want to journal - and that's fine. You don't need to have every day and every event written down. But if you really feel the urge to write, then go for it! If every cell of your body screams "Grab your journal and write!" then please do it! You will feel so much better to have all of your thoughts written down and not in your head anymore. I myself sometimes can't sleep and just have to journal for maybe 10 minutes in order to sort my thoughts and get sleepy.
Hopefully you found that helpful and got some ideas on how to start journaling or how to benefit more from it. I can't stress enough how much journaling has helped me in my recovery and would recommend it to everyone who struggles with bad thoughts and a messy mind.
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