Talking about your feelings is always hard. So why not write about them? Journaling has always been something I’ve been taught to do growing up, but I didn’t realize how important it is to mental health until recently. When my brother and I would go on vacation with our family, we were always encouraged to write about our trip in our journal so we could always remember it. As I grew up and started to feel feelings I maybe hadn’t before I was a teenager, I decided my journal could be used for multiple different things.Â
When I feel anxious or sad about really anything, I tend to build up my emotions in my head, because I often don’t feel like I’m in the space to express myself out loud. I’ve realized that bottling emotions up makes the situation 10 times worse. When I’ve felt like I can’t talk to anyone about how I’m feeling, I know the one person who will always want to hear what I have to vent about – my journal.Â
My journal has been the best way for me to express how I feel, and get my feelings on paper at times when I don’t fully understand them. When I start my journal entries, I normally feel confused about my feelings, and by the end of my entry I have more clarity.
It helps me lessen my overthinking, and validate my feelings through words. Another reason for journaling for me is to express gratitude. One of my favorite gifts I’ve ever received was from my aunt. She gave me a “Five-Minute-Journal.”
The five-minute guided journal prompts you with questions that allow you to express gratitude and reflect on your day. You start by answering questions in the morning: what/whom you’re grateful for, what would make today great, and goals for today. In the evening, you would return to the journal and answer what made today great and what lessons you learned.Â
I’ve found that this routine can be hard to remember, but every time I write in it, I feel so much better about my bad days. It allows me to think about things I’m so lucky to have in my life.Â
My favorite part of this journal by far is the question of what lessons I’ve learned today. A lot of the time, at night when I answer that question, I’ll flip back to my previous responses. It makes me consider the growth I’ve had in the past few years and how although bad days can really suck, they are just life lessons.
The best part about both of my journals is that they are completely private. That level of comfort helps me get out the emotions I hold in. Mental health issues must be helped in many ways much more powerful than journaling, but I seriously recommend this to anyone and everyone.
Journaling can seem scary for some, but being in touch with your emotions is such an important thing, even if you don’t think you need it. It can be an amazing tool to watch yourself grow, and to look back on as time passes, and this is something I believe everyone should try at least once.Â