I’m hesitant to call many things life-changing but journalling just might be one of them. When I decided to try it out a couple of years ago, I was initially quite sceptical. It’s just writing out the thoughts in your head onto paper – how much could that really do? Turns out – it can do a lot!
From a young age I’ve considered myself a writer and have written and dreamed up stories as early as I knew I could. Writing is a way of processing the world which many people, including myself, find extremely helpful. Writing about your own life and thoughts can be a beneficial practice to your mental health, clarity and happiness. Here are some reasons why, and how you could get started if you wanted to try it out.
Journalling is a cathartic release – if your head is swimming with a build-up of thoughts and feelings, journalling is a way to release that pressure. You can just let floods of thoughts out onto paper – not necessarily with the intention of solving anything, but just by acknowledging them all can relieve stress and worry. There might be things that you’d prefer not to tell a friend or family member, or if you don’t have someone to tell, journalling allows you that opportunity to let them be held in a safe space. Your words could be blunt, messy, irrational, or angry; it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to worry about censoring yourself or how to deliver it, you can just focus on expressing.
Journalling can encourage you to have more compassion for yourself, because there is a level of detachment in seeing what’s in your head out of it and onto paper (like reading about a character in a book). By letting your thoughts take up space on paper, you are indicating to yourself (consciously or not), that they deserve the time and space to be acknowledged.
Journalling is an intensely personal way of capturing and describing memories you can look back on – arguably much more personal than photos, videos or other means. Writing down moments and experiences of intense joy, inspiration, heartbreak, pain and everything in-between, allows you to capture and express all the colours of your life in words, which is so satisfying. Your journal can be a love letter to life, and a record of what it is to have a human experience.
Our thoughts can get so tightly bound up in emotions that writing them down can force you to see them rationally for what they really are. It’s not to say that journalling is going to magically solve your problems. But it can help you identify things that went well, what you’re proud of or why things upset you. Identifying your triggers and thought processes makes you more aware of you needs and can help you makes positive changes.
Journalling re-centres you in your own life. Maybe this sounds bizarre, but we can get so caught up in situations and the feelings and actions of other people, that sometimes we forget to make enough time to reflect on how things are affecting us, and come back home to ourselves. This can help you feel less passive in your own life, and discourage you from dismissing your own feelings and thoughts so much. The process of writing forces you to slow down your thinking (due to the time it takes to write) and pay attention to things you might be avoiding. It encourages you to pay attention to who you are at your core, and is a safe place to be introspective.
In a world that can often feel negative, consistently reflecting on what you’re grateful for is a certain way to feel more satisfied in your life. This is not suggesting that you should be toxically positive or dismissive of your struggles – but there is almost always something you can be grateful for. Doing this regularly shifts your perspective and encourages positive self-talk. This also encourages us to not just focus on what we still want to achieve, but how far we’ve come. Romanticise and record the tiny moments everyday that make you feel good. What are the things that bring you joy, which aren’t situational or dependent on other people?
Journalling is an amazing way to build self-awareness and get to know yourself better. Even if this doesn’t seem possible, peeling back the layers on your thought processes, reactions to things and to people, is both satisfying and illuminating. The process of discovering yourself is fascinating. But do remember that journalling shouldn’t turn you simply into a self-improvement project – its about expression!
I can’t attest to this yet, but having journals to look back on will be an incredible thing. Being able to dip back into the mind of your 20-something year old brain in your 40s will be something your future self will appreciate so much!
Starting to journal could feel overwhelming, but remember you can make it completely what you want it to be. You don’t need to give a chronological account of everything you did in the day or describe what you had for dinner (unless you want to!) I’d recommend starting with what feels significant to you, and things or moments that you have a lot of feelings about. You don’t have to write every day or even every week. Your prose could be messy, imaginative, you can include dates or not, or pictures or not. You could type instead of writing by hand. You could write about the people you love, the movies or media you love, current news, your dreams for the future, what inspires you, a recent experience, about your parents, about how you think you’ve grown over the year, about your childhood self, situations that bothered you and why. I would recommend doing it consistently, but it’s not a necessity.
It’s actually quite rare to be creating something that is merely for expression and nothing else, in this day and age. You could write upside down, or in green ink, or doodle in the corners. There is no criteria to meet – and this is so freeing. My journals might be the most honest expression of who I am, and I’m so glad they exist.