When I was a teenager I was a compulsive journaler. I would capture my thoughts, feelings, worries, joys… everything in a diary. I’ve still got some of those journals and, I’ll be honest, they are a bit cringeworthy. But they weren’t written to be read back decades later. They were written as a kind of therapy (although I didn’t know it at the time), it was a way of making sense of what was happening, working through some of the knotty issues I was facing and enjoying some of the funny moments again.
There’s been lots of research into the benefits of journaling - they include:
Gaining perspective
Improving anxiety
Reducing levels of depression
Managing stress
Supporting through recovery
Staring at a blank page can be a bit daunting, particularly if you’ve never journaled before, or it’s been some time since you wrote down how you’re really feeling. So each month, I’ll be sharing a series of journaling questions for you to work through.
Please use the questions in the way that works best for you. You might find that answering one question is enough. You might decide that you’d like to work through the questions over a series of journaling sessions. Or you might try answering the same question a number of times over the month to see whether things have changed.
A mini suggestion from me is to find a lovely book for your journal and a pen that makes you want to write (I love stationery!! And a scratchy pen will not entice you to keep journaling…)
What gave me energy this week?
How did it feel? (Try to describe how you felt physically and mentally)
When have I felt like that before?
What pattern or similarities do I notice?
Is this something I’d like to do again? And if so, how can I bring more of it into my life?
Good luck! I hope that journaling is for you, but if you don't get on with this month's questions, don't despair. I'll be sharing another set for you to try next month!
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We all deserve to live a great life, but what great looks like changes over time and sometimes we find ourselves stuck living in a way that isn’t right for us anymore. I support women to live a happier life: through prioritising their wellbeing and doing more of what they love.
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