As a teenager many of you might have kept a diary, it was most likely hidden it in the deepest darkest place in your room, out of fear of someone finding it and reading it. It was a place where you could write freely about your experiences and your feelings without being judged and something for you to look back on years later, and remember exactly how you were feeling on that exact date and time.
Although many of us stopped keeping a diary as we entered in to adulthood, keeping a journal is became an important part of many people’s lives and has many benefits including improving your mental health.Keeping a journal is as simple as writing down your thoughts and feelings in order to understand them more clearly.
If it is something you have never tried before and find you struggle with anxiety, stress or depression, it can be an effective tool in helping you to offload any worries and getting your thoughts down on paper. It also helps with emotional regulation and identifying patterns in your feelings and behaviours which will help you to recognise specific triggers that have a positive or negative effect on your mood.
Write Freely
Learning to write about your feelings or experiences in the moment, is the first step in easing any internal struggles and conflicts and opening up new opportunities for growth. Give yourself the permission to write without worry. Here are our top three tips to start you on your journey.
Write When you are ready, begin to write without lifting your pen from the paper for at least 10 minutes. Just write without thinking too much about what you want to say and try not to worry about grammar, spelling and choice of words. Keep writing about whatever thoughts or feelings come into your head without fear and without judgement.
Read Once you have finished writing, take your time to read aloud what you have written without judgement, be kind to yourself. By reading it aloud, it allows you to hear your voice and the sound of your words, phrases and sentences.
Reflect What emotions did you feel while you were writing? Have you felt those feelings before? What surprised you? In asking these questions it allows you to recognise any patterns in your behaviour and emotions. Journaling and reflecting provides a greater sense of confidence and self-identity.
All you need now is a new notebook and a pen and you can begin to write about your thoughts and feelings completely unfiltered, you can shop our full range of notebooks here to get you started.
