Write your way to health!!

 

Keeping a journal can be emotionally healing.

Think of journal writing and you might picture a great author at her desk penning her memoirs, but as it turns out, you don’t have to be a famous writer or philosopher to keep a diary. Research shows that ordinary people of all ages and cultures can benefit from journal writing. All you need is a pen, paper, and the willingness to be honest about yourself and your feelings. If you prefer, you can use your computer. Create a special personal folder that only you can access.
Extensive research has shown that people who write about their emotions in journals experience physical and psychological benefits: their immunity improves; they visit the doctor less often; students get better grades and people who have lost their jobs find work more quickly. Journal writing seems to have this positive, therapeutic effect when people explore their emotions about life. Those who write about superficial topics like their daily routine do not experience the same benefits, according to these studies.

Anyone can try journal writing. All you need is a quiet time and place to write for about 15 minutes a day. Therapists advise journal writers to explore topics of emotional importance in their writing, such as issues they are worried about or their dreams for the future. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or neat handwriting. The journal is for your eyes only. Journal writing seems to have the most benefit when you cover both positive and negative emotions. Whether you choose to keep your writing is up to you. You can shred the paper (or delete the file from your computer) if you want. Just the act of putting your thoughts down is often enough.
These are only general guidelines, since there is no “right” way to keep a journal. Experiment and see how a journal could enhance your life. If simply writing down your feelings is too vague for you, here are some other ways you can use a journal. Choose any notebook (or computer file) and get started:

IDEAS

A journal is a great place to capture those fleeting ideas you have during the day and would like to save for the future. That could be anything: a romantic idea to surprise your husband with, a list of things you’d love to do, a wise quote from a famous person, or a new idea for lunch. The point is to jot down anything that inspires you. You might like to keep an “ideas journal” that is small enough to carry in your purse for those creative thoughts, or incorporate these ideas into a larger journal on your life experiences.

GRATITUDE

It’s been said that you can’t expect to receive new blessings in life before you are grateful for what you already have. Keeping a “gratitude journal” is a wonderful way to list all the things you are grateful for on that day. The obvious ones are things like your health and your family, but also try to include the many small blessings we often take for granted: a smile from your child, a lovely cup of tea, a cool breeze as you sit on your balcony in the evening, a favorite song on the radio, or your husband’s laugh. Once you get going, the list is really endless. Challenge yourself to list 20 things you are grateful for each day. Once you start a gratitude journal, you’ll find yourself going through your day just looking for things to appreciate and you’ll be more thankful to the people in your life.

GOALS

Without a clear vision for how you want your life to be, it’s difficult to accomplish anything. A journal can be used to pinpoint your goals and describe them in detail. If you want a closer relationship with your kids, for example, imagine what your life would be like if you had it. What would you be doing with the kids? How would you talk together? How would you spend the weekends? Once you write your vision down, you can begin to think about what action you need to take to achieve it.

DECISIONS

Making decisions can be confusing for many people, but decision-making can be easier when tackled in writing. Just follow each solution to its conclusion and then compare. For example, if you are debating whether to put your two year old in a nursery, write the positive and negative outcome if she goes to nursery now, then write another scenario for if you keep her home until she is old enough for school. When you see things in writing, it can make the options you are choosing between clearer.

FAMILY

A “family journal” is a fun idea for the whole family to do together, especially during the summer holidays when kids have lots of free time. This is one journal you’ll want to keep. Find a nice, pretty notebook and put it in a place where everyone in the family can use it, with pens, pencils and crayons nearby. Family members can write anything they want: how they are feeling that day, what the best part of the day was, or how they feel about other family members. Kids who cannot write yet can draw pictures in the journal or dictate their words to mom or dad! This journal is a way for the family to interact and will be a touching keepsake for your kids to read years later, so be sure to write the date on it. It’s just one of many ways you can find healing and wonder in keeping a journal.