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Journaling - The Write Stuff For You?

Posted by Ginger, Volunteer Mentor @gingerw, Jun 19, 2020

Long ago –okay, for me, it was long ago!- it was common for a young person to keep a diary, a place to write down the heartaches and giggles of growing up, the trials and tribulations of school, friendships, sports and activities. Sometimes it was a locked book, so that we felt secure knowing our secret thought remained a secret.

How times have changed! While I no longer keep a classic diary, it is no less important for me to write down thoughts, ideas, and heaven-knows-what, on a regular basis. Nowadays, the common name is a “journal”, and seems to appeal to every segment of society. There are an abundance of ways to do this, and so many reasons why. Although I prefer longhand, many people use a computer, and there are any number of prompts/styles/methods.

Let’s explore this together!

Do you journal? What prompted you to start? What would you tell someone who wants to start?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Just Want to Talk Support Group.

Mentor
Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Dec 3 4:36pm
In reply to @pvctom2021 "@gingerw @mir123 Last night my sleep and awakening were not so bad, so I did not..." + (show)
@pvctom2021

@gingerw
@mir123
Last night my sleep and awakening were not so bad, so I did not write down my question and sit and answer using my non dominant hand….the night before was different..my wife woke me in the early am hours by yelling my name loudly, 3 times today and shouted that I needed to stop screaming.. I wasn’t even aware that I was screaming or even having a nightmare…I’ve had episodes similar to this in the past, but not to this extent…I must have been deep…and when I awoke I was in not aware of what had happened during the night, I had completely forgotten it…but the morning anxiety and the dreadful thought 💭‘what’s going to happen to us’ was there and I had to shake it off and get moving….

Later on I grabbed my spiral notepad and wrote the question and sat there for a few minutes…still totally unaware of the episode of screaming and my wife having to wake me up…what came to me were probably the same thoughts and words that I would have written with my dominant hand but I tried it….I’m not sure, but here is what my non dominant hand scribbled…..”I DON’T HAVE…ENOUGH….WORRIED…
ALONE….NO ONE …TO BE WITH…ALONE…DEAD

Then this morning I was flipping through my phone trying to delete so many random photos when I came upon a pic of a pretty glass cut candle holder and stuck under it, was my DMV registration renewal card due 30 Nov…. I had completely forgotten about it…so down I go today (not far from me) in the Subaru to get the Camry new registration….to all have a safe and healthy week
🙏pvctom

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@pvctom2021 You may have stumbled onto something that will give you insight. How did you feel after this first time? Shaken up? Surprised? More confused? Perhaps several days of posing the same question to yourself will produce a dialog, and help allay the anxiety. It's worth a try!

Please let us know. It can be scary, but enlightening.
Ginger

REPLY
1 reply
pvctom2021 | @pvctom2021 | Dec 3 4:59pm
In reply to @gingerw "@pvctom2021 You may have stumbled onto something that will give you insight. How did you feel..." + (show)
@gingerw

@pvctom2021 You may have stumbled onto something that will give you insight. How did you feel after this first time? Shaken up? Surprised? More confused? Perhaps several days of posing the same question to yourself will produce a dialog, and help allay the anxiety. It's worth a try!

Please let us know. It can be scary, but enlightening.
Ginger

Jump to this post

Thanks Ginger🙏 I will keep trying it..👍

REPLY
pvctom2021 | @pvctom2021 | Dec 3 5:04pm
In reply to @mir123 "Wow! Were you surprised?" + (show)
@mir123

Wow! Were you surprised?

Jump to this post

@mir123

No I wasn’t surprised and the reason being that I was thinking the answers or feelings as I wrote them…

REPLY
pvctom2021 | @pvctom2021 | 16 hours ago

Hello to all

My Sunday morning awakening was one of confusion and uncertainty, and met with those scary PVCs and tachycardia runs which come and go lately after a long wonderful absence…I thought it was Monday, then looked at the phone and saw it was only Sunday…there was a wave of great relief at that revelation…there is nothing especially going on Monday so why was I so worried about it..?I’m still so grateful for all of the kind responses that I’ve received here from all of you during this year … my wife and I have had two falls this year and several others issues that many retired couples have in their 70’s, I’ve even had some contact with a few fellas that I know from some online meetings… I can’t figure out why this morning anxiety still sticks around… I’ve tried the “quiet thoughts 💭 with the non dominant handwriting” and what comes to mind is usually always the same….this morning’s result was a little different…I wasn’t surprised or startled, but felt hollow as the words I wrote were “regret, wish, past, could, go, back, sad, gone, dead”…. I got moving , unlocked front door, went out on porch and took a deep breath of the wonderful crisp cold 🥶 air into my lungs and exhaled.. and just for a moment , I was in another thought world…”how lucky 🍀 I am to be able to stand here in a safe neighborhood and look around and see, and feel and walk and breathe”…there are so many that don’t have those blessings…I realized that just for this small moment I was unconsciously practicing Positive Cognitive Thinking…I will have to try harder to keep that frame of mind when I am put into an uncomfortable situation by any person, place or thing….and perhaps 🤔 find some online support groups that fellowship on matters like morning anxiety and fear of being old and alone… I’m going to the mall today and walk and look at the candle store and talk to my wife when I get back to my car…I will pass by the Santa Claus 🎅 station and wave…I must try to keep Positive Cognitive Thinking on the surface and practice this Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from me to me when I’m out and about or sitting here by myself…I wish all here a happy safe Sunday and a Holiday week ahead…and then a safe healthy Christmas week
🙏pvctom

REPLY
1 reply
Denise | @denisestlouie | 15 hours ago
In reply to @pvctom2021 "Hello to all My Sunday morning awakening was one of confusion and uncertainty, and met with..." + (show)
@pvctom2021

Hello to all

My Sunday morning awakening was one of confusion and uncertainty, and met with those scary PVCs and tachycardia runs which come and go lately after a long wonderful absence…I thought it was Monday, then looked at the phone and saw it was only Sunday…there was a wave of great relief at that revelation…there is nothing especially going on Monday so why was I so worried about it..?I’m still so grateful for all of the kind responses that I’ve received here from all of you during this year … my wife and I have had two falls this year and several others issues that many retired couples have in their 70’s, I’ve even had some contact with a few fellas that I know from some online meetings… I can’t figure out why this morning anxiety still sticks around… I’ve tried the “quiet thoughts 💭 with the non dominant handwriting” and what comes to mind is usually always the same….this morning’s result was a little different…I wasn’t surprised or startled, but felt hollow as the words I wrote were “regret, wish, past, could, go, back, sad, gone, dead”…. I got moving , unlocked front door, went out on porch and took a deep breath of the wonderful crisp cold 🥶 air into my lungs and exhaled.. and just for a moment , I was in another thought world…”how lucky 🍀 I am to be able to stand here in a safe neighborhood and look around and see, and feel and walk and breathe”…there are so many that don’t have those blessings…I realized that just for this small moment I was unconsciously practicing Positive Cognitive Thinking…I will have to try harder to keep that frame of mind when I am put into an uncomfortable situation by any person, place or thing….and perhaps 🤔 find some online support groups that fellowship on matters like morning anxiety and fear of being old and alone… I’m going to the mall today and walk and look at the candle store and talk to my wife when I get back to my car…I will pass by the Santa Claus 🎅 station and wave…I must try to keep Positive Cognitive Thinking on the surface and practice this Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from me to me when I’m out and about or sitting here by myself…I wish all here a happy safe Sunday and a Holiday week ahead…and then a safe healthy Christmas week
🙏pvctom

Jump to this post

Thank you!

REPLY
1 reply
pvctom2021 | @pvctom2021 | 9 hours ago
In reply to @denisestlouie "Thank you!" + (show)
@denisestlouie

Thank you!

Jump to this post

@denisestlouie

You’re welcome and thanks for the positive reaction.

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