Journaling has been a trending topic on TikTok and Pinterest for a while now.
It has been a romanticized topic as well with aesthetic photos of people doing it. Some people assume that this is just a new word for a diary or a burn book. The real reason for journaling is people like to use it to unwind for the night, set up their day, or reflect on their mental health and goals in life. But what exactly is it? How do you do it? And, most importantly, what are the benefits of journaling?
what is journaling?
Journaling, in short, is recording thoughts and fostering growth. It can help through hard times as well as days that seem easy. It is the process of documenting what you feel and taking time to appreciate what you did in a day. Journaling could also help you navigate what you need to work on to glow up and reduce stress. It can also be used as a way to talk about your passions and hobbies freely. Other common uses are gratitude, practicing mindfulness, venting, problem solving, making sense of your dreams, and exploring your dreams.
Benefits?
One of the main benefits is learning how to open up. Whether this is about your past, or just about your day, it helps you tell something about your day and how you felt throughout it. In a 2006 study, around 100 adults were asked to journal daily, and they showed reduced signs of depression, anxiety, and hostility. It may be hard at some points after writing, but over time, you will feel better about it.Â
Another benefit is the fact that writing can help organize thoughts. This helps people discover what they are actually feeling and not letting your random thoughts get to them. Anyone can write whatever they want because it is their journal of ideas and discoveries throughout the day. If hard times hit at random points in the week, journaling may help identify what causes the stress. Going the route of writing thoughts and feelings about everything that happened in a day, pinpointing it to a time or an event may become easier.
One of the many other benefits of writing your thoughts is finding inspiration. You will most likely write something about wanting to do something or a dream you have that you want to fulfill. Writing this down could help gears turn in your mind about how you could make it happen. This could be from a prompt or a random thought you had throughout the day.
Where do I start?
Starting to journal is affordable and simple. All you need is your notes app or an old notebook. Then, you have the option to choose, freeform or guided. If you choose to journal freeform, you let your hand guide you in what you want to say reflecting on your day. It is like your old diary, except this time, you look at what you appreciated about the day and what you could improve on. Guided journaling is where you have questions to answer or follow every day. To make up questions, you could reflect on how your day to day typically goes. Making up questions can be difficult, but looking them up is easy. You can look up “journal prompts” on any search engine and you will easily find questions. You could also add what you would like to use journaling for at the end of the prompt, like “loneliness” or “for personal growth”. If you enjoy this method and can’t find questions you feel comfortable using, you could purchase a guided journal or a journaling app. “Gratitude Journal” by Maria Gamb is a 365 day journal that takes five minutes to fill out a day. Day One is an app available on Google Play and the App Store that allows you to type all of your feelings and correlate pictures from your day.
Choosing a time that works right for you is key to making journaling work. The best times to journal are early morning or before bed, but any quiet part of your day works too. This way, you can use your morning gratitude to set up your day or reflect on what made your day good at night. You do not have to write an essay every time, just a sentence works. But, if you write more than that, that’s okay too. This isn’t your next graded assignment, keep your thoughts raw and straight forward. This is for you, not for anyone else. And that is it! It is really that easy.
My Personal Experience.
I have been on and off journaling since 2021. I enjoy journaling and writing at the end of the night, but I struggle to do it longer than a few months. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I continually make excuses not to do it. Typically, it is the “I am too tired” excuse, though taking a few minutes before bed really is not that hard. I love to journal — I find it helpful to reflect on my day and collect my emotions and ideas. I personally look up prompts on Pinterest and write out questions I would like to answer across the month. Sprinkling in fun questions like “What is your favorite song for the month?” with questions like “What is a habit that you need to unlearn?” I find that works best for me. Going in too deep can be a little depressing and going to bed sad everyday is not for the weak. Plus, I use the fun prompts as a way of self discovery. “Why do I want what I want?” is a prompt I like because we all know why we want what we want, but writing it down could help solidify the ideas. The best part about journaling for me was I could work on myself to become the best person I could be. I adore self-improvement and the idea of being a better person than what I am now, and journaling helped me with this!
Once you get the flow of journaling, you will see the differences in how you see your days and behavior. The benefits of writing down your thoughts are overwhelmingly positive for your body, mind, and soul. Journaling can be your new self care for everyday use.