New Approach To Journaling

[worthymisfit]

I have always tried to keep a journal on and off to record my feelings and experiences, get them out of my head and on paper and help me work things out in a constructive way. The problem is that I would typically write when I was feeling negative about my life or an event. This made the overall journal experience negative for me.

I've picked up the pen again after a long absence and I've been taking a new approach to it which I have found to be pretty helpful. Instead of writing paragraphs of "dear diary" streams of thought, this time I'm doing a structured list format that kind of forces me to take a positive or neutral approach instead of negative. Each day that I write, I write a paragraph about what is happening in my life on the left page and a sentence or two about the following things on the right page or my journal:

1. A "mantra" or theme for the day
2. Something new I did
3. Something kind I did
4. Something productive I did
5. Something I am planning to do next
6. Something I learned
7. And something creative I did.

I don't always have something to say about all of these, but I try to fill something in for at least 5 of them. I feel like this approach still gives me an outlet to deal with what's happening in my life, but it has forced me to be less negative about it and to put one foot in front of the other and keep my life moving forward.

I wanted to share this and ask how others approach keeping a diary and the struggles and successes with it.

 

[PlainJane]

Hey that's a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing. I think I'll give it a shot. I've never really been good at journaling. This seems doable. And positive.

 

[Beachlife09]

That's really great! A good positive approach to writing! When i journal, i always try to end each entry with a positive thing of hope. :happy: i hope your new idea goes well!

 

[WildMermaid]

@worthymisfit this is brilliant! I get lost in the dark every time i try to journal. May I try using your method as well?

 

[worthymisfit]

@WildMermaid absolutely! Let me know if it helps you! I've bee. Trying it for just a few weeks and I feel way less drained after I write.

 

[WildMermaid]

@worthymisfit :hug: I will, very excited for such a positive approach! I feel really bitchy when i actually journal (especially about the past) and that is not a character trait I wish to build on. :hug:

 

[GWhizz]

I've been meaning to start journaling, but kept getting put off because I tend to write a lot of things down that I find difficult to talk about in therapy and figured all I'd write would be negative. So this suggestion really helps. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Seasounds]

I have a hard time journaling, due to my hyper-vigilance, when at home. Perhaps I could try it, on the journaling part of the forum. Hey, I just came up with a solution. I would like it if I could write in such a way, that it would soothe me. Your suggestions are helpful. Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I have been journaling for many, many years and I started it when I began therapy and was diagnosed.

I agree with you about focusing on the positive looking for solutions and not focusing on the negative or the whole mountain of what I am dealing with at any given time.

I used to write about the negative and I believe it made my moods very down and depressed.

Journaling has been a very good tool for me and I do it daily.

 

[shell]

I found journalling really helpful as it showed all my disfunctional thinking and beliefs up, without journalling I would never have seen the way I act when I am triggered.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'm like you in that "typical" journaling resulted in a negative stream of thought. And for someone who has thought ruminations and obsessions, well, journaling ended up being more of a negative experience for me!

My trauma wasn't completely pre-verbal.....more like mid-verbal in that I was still developing language skills at that age. I found that its a lot easier for me to "journal" through collage with a few well chosen words (if any).