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Why do I hate journaling so much?
But journaling isn’t for everyone. Some people find that it doesn’t feel calming or fulfilling and the stress of finding the “perfect” words to put on paper can be overwhelming. As a child, I would get super excited every time I got a new diary or notebook—and then stress out if I missed writing for a few days. Journaling can be a great self-care idea for introvert. It gives us a chance to reflect in solitude and channel our thoughts into words. If you have trouble sitting still for an hour every day, journaling can be a less intimidating alternative. So often, we let our minds slip through our jam-packed schedule. Journaling also helps people hone their focus so that they think about only one thing at a time. When you write your thoughts by hand, you can only write one word at a time. Your thoughts slow down to match your writing speed and you’ll find that it’s easier to slip out of your overthinking mindset. According to Stosny, writing a diary can turn dark when you live too much in your head, turn you into a passive observer in your life, you obsess you, you become a vehicle of guilt instead of solutions, and you wallow in the negative things that have happened to you. Journaling happens to be one of the most therapist/counselor recommended, simplest and effective coping mechanisms for managing mental illness.
Can journaling be unhealthy?
How Journaling Can Be a Negative. According to Stosny, journaling can become dark when you it makes you live too much in your head, makes you a passive observer in your life, makes you self-obsessed, becomes a vehicle of blame instead of solutions, and wallows in the negative things that have happened to you. Instead, address your negative thoughts in a healthy and productive way like journaling. Journaling is a great mindfulness practice because it lets us get all of our thoughts out onto paper and out of our heads. Not only does this help us clear our minds of those thoughts, but it also helps us work through them. Whether you’re dealing with stress from school, burnout from work, an illness, or anxiety, journaling can help in many ways: It can reduce your anxiety. Journaling about your feelings is linked to decreased mental distress. But writing in your journal as a way to release and express your thoughts, feelings and emotions can be a life-changing habit. Daily writing can be a challenge if you’re new to it. Much like meditating, it requires patience and commitment. But if you stick to it, it can improve your life in significant ways. Studies have shown that the emotional release that comes from keeping a journal helps to lower anxiety and stress, and even helps you achieve a better night’s sleep.
When journaling doesn t work?
If you’re struggling to journal, you need to maintain some sort of consistency. Set a specific time each day or once a week to journal. You can journal for 20 minutes every Sunday at 9 pm or opt for 5 minutes a day every morning at 8 am. Be specific! Improve writing and communication skills When you journal every day, you’re practicing the art of writing. And if you use a journal to express your thoughts and ideas, it can help improve your communication skills. Journaling can help reduce intrusive thoughts which lessens your stress level. By reducing your stress level, you are increasing your cognitive energy that can be used towards forming memories. Once kids can pick up a pencil or crayon, they can start writing a journal. It doesn’t have to actually be words, it can be pictures, letters, stickers, or cut-and-pasted memorabilia. The goal of writing a journal is to express yourself on paper. This goal doesn’t change whether a child is four or ten.
Why do I get angry when I journal?
Journaling can make you feel worse when you brood on the page, when writing is just a method of venting in which you constantly reinforce the story at the core of your reactions and emotions. In this case, indulging your anger only prolongs it — and your suffering. The benefits of keeping a writing journal (venting) Addressing difficult feelings rather than pretending they don’t exist can help us to normalise these responses, allowing us to work with them, rather than feel bad about ourselves for finding things tricky at times. The simple act of expressing thoughts and feelings on paper about challenging and upsetting events can allow us to move forward by expressing and letting go of the feelings involved. Expressive writing also provides an opportunity to construct a meaningful personal narrative about what happened. Many mental health experts recommend journaling because it can improve your mood and manage symptoms of depression. Studies support this and suggest journaling is good for your mental health. It may also make therapy work better. The basic instructions for Expressive Writing go something like this: Write continuously for 20 minutes about your deepest emotions and thoughts surrounding an emotional challenge in your life. In your writing, really let go and explore the event and how it has affected you.