Perks of Journaling
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If you've ever been to therapy, the idea of journaling your thoughts or emotions has probably been thrown out there in one way or another (#ImJustAsGuilty 🙈). There’s no coincidence as to why journaling is one of the first few coping techniques suggested by your therapist. It's for *good* and *strong* reasons!! Many professionals have been found to disagree, though; believing that documenting traumatic experiences resurfaces emotional and physical pain only to cause further damage. This disagreement arises, however, due to the fact that many individuals will end up writing about said trauma without *fully* undergoing the therapeutic process and facing the root of their challenges.
Some of you may be rolling your eyes as you read this post because the idea of journaling sounds silly (or maybe you’ve actually tried it & weren’t able to reap the benefits that everyone keeps raving about). Stereotypically, many may link the word ‘journal’ to the word ‘diary’ (which is definitely one way it can be used). However, there's so much more to it than that. Check out the benefits and alternative uses of a journal below:
- Prioritization
- Self Care
- Healing
- Achieving Goals
- Evoking Mindfulness
- Boosting Memory & Comprehension
- Sparking Creativity
- Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence
- Increasing Your Spirituality and/or Gratefulness
- Strengthening Your Self Discipline
- Increasing Self Confidence
- & Improving Communication Skills
Nowadays, many of these topics are incorporated into a person's morning routine. Fortunately, journaling has become easier now than ever. While there are still blank journals on the market, there are journals that have topics or themes listed above structured into the pages! This is very beneficial to those new to the process of journaling. If you’re in the market for purchasing a new journal, i’ve linked a few of my current favorites below! (I’ve been really into personalization & monogramming lately, so that heavily influenced the first two selections lol)
- Shinola Detroit’s Large Hard Linen Journal (photographed in the picture above in Forest Green)
- (If you peep their website, you’ll notice a few other journal styles as well)
- https://www.shinola.com/journals/all/large-hard-linen.html
- Pop & Suki’s Leather Notebook
- https://popandsuki.com/products/leather-notebook
- Use the code Amyna15 for 15% off anything on their site (convenient, huh??)
- 2018 Purpose Planner (ig: @purposeplanner) by a fellow Detroit native, @billiemcqueen
- An amazing planner that can introduce any newbie to the process & habit of journaling
- https://www.imapurposeplanner.com/products/2018-purpose-planner
- These happen to be conveniently on sale right now for more than 50% off!
- 2018 Cossac Planner (similar to the purpose planner above)
- http://a.co/5icbDHG
If you’re interested in a follow-up on "How to Journal from Scratch", comment below (You’re not the only one that gets stuck, I promise 😝).
P.s. What are some journaling tools you use??