The Importance of Writing
Writing in a planner or journal notebook is a fantastic self-care practice that not only improves emotions of happiness but also lowers stress, clarifies ideas and feelings, and truly helps you come to know yourself more.
Jasmin Terrany, a Licensed Behavioral Health Counselor, best summarizes the situation: "Once you write, you stop everything else in your life and take the time to examine inside. It has the potential to be a really strong tool for assisting you in understanding what else is happening inside of you."
Follow These Six Stages To Effective Journaling
The journaling method may depend on the individual. For instance, I prefer to journal in the evening, whereas others prefer to write first thing in the morning. It may take a little time to discover the perfect schedule for you, but the most important thing is that you are making time to explore your mind and unearth essential ideas and emotions.
1) Write as openly as possible. Set a stopwatch for a bit longer than anticipated; you'll be able to write comfortably and then record your flow of ideas until the alarm sounds. Embrace sitting in silence and let thoughts and inspirations make their way to you. I'm sure you've heard of the term "stream of consciousness. It's mostly about working in a continuous stream. Don't worry about what you're writing; just write it. This can assist in revealing ideas and emotions that you were unaware you had!
2) Take a little rest. After you've written everything down, take a little rest. Breathe deeply and direct all your attention on the outside. Writing may be taxing, and addressing emotions can be much more so. So, after you've finished writing for the given time, have a little rest before proceeding to the following few stages.
3) Act as your own therapist. Now's the moment to plunge into what's recorded in the front of you. Once you are peaceful, clear, and prepared, take on the position of the 'Tender Curious Therapist,'" Get a different color pen or typeface. As your own smart, compassionately inquisitive therapist, when you study with loving curiosity, you want to go further and really grasp what you are feeling.
4) Go deeper. You'll have to truly examine the ideas and emotions you've stated if you want to go deeper. Underline things that strikeout and offer questions to which you may reply in your journal. Then you may start answering these questions, which leads us to the next stage.
5) React appropriately. You're nearly finished! This fifth phase is mostly about answering questions we just discussed. Get a new piece of paper and return to your initial font color. Make a note of the very first inquiry and then respond to it. Then compose the follow-up question and respond to it, and so on.
6) Do it again. Finally, repeat the procedure for as often as you really need. Proceed with this question/response procedure for both you and your internal therapist until you feel finished.