There has been a big mental health movement over the past few years. It is a great thing to see, but it can get overwhelming when you are bombarded with all the health and wellness exercises and experiences that you can do to “make yourself a better you”. With everyone telling you that this new thing will change your life and make you feel so much better, it is hard to decide which of them are actually worth implementing. In this article, I hope to make that process a little easier.
One thing that I decided to try implementing into my everyday routine was to write in a journal at the end of each night. The first night was the most impactful for me, surprisingly. The first night, I filled two and a half pages full of ranting and some tears that stained the page. (Note to self: Do not listen to Dear John by Taylor Swift on repeat while journaling if you don’t want to get into your feelings.) It felt really relieving to get out all the emotions that I had felt over negative events that had happened in the recent past. While there are several different ways you could approach writing in your journal for this first day, I did more of a free write/diary format. It was what felt most comfortable on that day.
I approached the second day a little differently. I wrote in my journal like a diary again while I talked about my day. I listened to happier music on this day so it wouldn’t trigger any of my sadder memories. Since this was less of a venting session than the day before, I wrote a little less, but I felt lighter after getting everything out of my head. In the end, I felt good after finishing this entry.
The third day was my shortest entry yet. The format that has been consistent through this is that I use it to write about my feelings over my day. Something that happened between my second and third day was that four days had passed. While I had tried to incorporate it into my nightly routine, it was difficult at times. Surprisingly, because I do really enjoy writing, it did not come naturally to me to write every evening. It was too easy for me to put it off. When I did end up writing, though, it still felt good to get all my thoughts out of my head. I also tried to add a different method of journaling to the end of my entry for my third day. I tried to put the things that I wanted down to try and make them more real. I do believe that the more you put something into the universe, the easier it will be to make it actually happen.
After a couple more days, I wrote again and found that it was not as rewarding to write while I did not have anything crazy to write about. I found it so therapeutic to write while I was having an emotional breakdown, but when life was going well, journaling didn’t do as much for me. This seemed to be an ongoing theme for the rest of the time I journaled.
Let’s be realistic. It’s impossible to implement every new trend or practice into your everyday life. It’s best to be kind with yourself and try different things and realize that not everything will work for you like it does for everyone else. If something works and you enjoy it, great! If it doesn’t, don’t be too hard on yourself when you see it work for everyone else. Everyone is different, and we all have different needs. Personally, I found that journaling really helped me when I had gone through something emotionally difficult. On an average day, it did not fulfill me as much when I had already written pretty much the same thing the day before. I think to make journaling work for me, I will write when I am going through something difficult, but for an everyday habit to have… I don’t think it’s for me. And that’s okay too! We need to do what is best for us. Not what works for “everyone” else.