Beginning of the Journey
When some people think of journaling, they think of those early 2000s films that have the main protagonist write in their little pink journal starting off with “Dear Diary.” I promise you this is not that type of journaling (unless you are into that stuff then by all means, go for it!).
The type of journaling I am talking about is bullet journaling. Bullet journaling is equal parts day planner, diary and written meditation which turns “chaos of coordinating your life into a streamlined system” that aids your productivity and helps you reach different types of goals such as personal and professional.
It is a more creative spin on the idea of journaling. You can feel organized by also having your own imagination create the pages that lay in front of you.
The beginning of such a journey can be quite intimidating; however, once you get the hang of it, you will feel better than ever before.
Only 15 Minutes?
Overall, the act of journaling is storing a “record of your personal thoughts, feelings, insights and more.”
Journaling has been proven by researchers that only 15 minutes can help improve your mental health. Yes, as crazy as it sounds, only 15 minutes a day of journaling can help ease different stressors.
Researchers found in a study that those with multiple medical conditions wrote online for 15 minutes three days a week over a 12-week period had increased feelings of well-being and fewer depressive symptoms after one month.
This fact alone inspired many people to start journaling, including myself.
My Own Journaling Journey
My own journaling journey did not start out pretty. I honestly did not know where to begin. That is when I started to look on different websites such as Pinterest to get this creative inspiration.
In my first journal, it was a little rough. My titles were all over the place, my designs were very messy and I would forget to keep up to date with some entries. Since I am a perfectionist, this made me cringe. Even though I had those problems, I did not stop journaling.
As I kept journaling, I noticed how much lighter I felt. I wrote down my worries, concerns, happy events. Everything. It gave me a chance to do some self-reflection and figure out what steps I needed to take to become a better “me.”
I am now on my third journal book right now. It took me a good chunk of time to be satisfied with the way I wrote out my thoughts in my journal, but it has been worth it.
As Hannah Montana would say, “everybody makes mistakes.” I made a lot of mistakes in my previous journals that would maybe have pushed me away from journaling, but I am glad I stuck with it.
Other Benefits
According to WebMD, there are multiple other benefits to journaling other than reduced stressors. It can help in many ways:
- Anxiety reducing
This is where the 15 minutes a day comes in. The well-being of individuals improves rapidly through the 12 weeks of journaling.
- No more obsessive thinking
Explaining on paper about a traumatic/emotional event can “break away from the nonstop cycle of obsessive thinking.” BUT do it some time after the event occurs. Timing is key.
- More awareness
Seeing the words of an event written out on paper can help one understand it better with “new perceptions” of what happened.
- Regulating emotion
Writing about feelings through journaling in an abstract way can have a more calming effect which makes the ability to control one’s emotions better.
- Emotional healing
Writing in a private setting about an event that is impacted by stressful emotions could help one reach out to loved ones or even social support.
“Write” off into the sunset
If you want to get started and do not know where to start, pick up a writing utensil, some paper and start writing down some thoughts you are having at that very moment. Once you start writing, you won’t believe how much information will spill from you.
Do not worry about trying to get creative right on the spot. The first step into writing is producing words right in front of you. Keep it simple!
Do not put yourself down if the creative part does not turn out how you wanted it to. Just try, try again. Like I said before, I am on my third journal and I finally like how I have it. It takes time!
So do not worry! Write your mind out and do not be ashamed. We all have to start somewhere!
Sources:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a25940356/what-is-a-bullet-journal/