Journaling - The Write Stuff For You?

@pvctom2021 For many of us, this time of year can be anxiety or stress-provoking. It's good to hear you and your wife are taking it easy, and not allowing yourselves to get too stressed! Disappointments or frustration, can both be good topics for writing. And with your upcoming appointments, I bet you may have a list of questions to write out for that cardiologist.
Ginger

I wrote my first poem when I was 5 years old. It was a fascinating discovery to see how 26 letters could be arranged into a seemingly endless variety of words, describing my world around me and what was going on.

It wasn't until I got out of high school that I discovered my father had been keeping a journal since his junior high school years. He even made a special wooden box to hold his paper and pens. He chronicled many moves, a mother's death at his young age, and his time serving in the US Navy during WW II on the USS Enterprise. He also kept detailed daily postings of weather on the header of each page of his books, and the goings-on of his marriage and growing family. He kept track of his kids as we ventured off and started our own lives, and told of the heartbreak of my mother's dementia and her long-tenured journey of Silence. I had always hoped to receive his journals after he passed, but it was not to be.

So, I guess my journaling came generationally to me. Over the years it was natural to pick up pen and paper, recording what was going on in my heart/head/world/life. My poetry and observations on life are in a separate book, or books as it may be. My journals where my soul gets poured out, are in their own. I have written about heartache and heartbreak, job insecurity, and the everyday things that everybody goes through. I have written my way through natural disasters, cross country trips and camping, illnesses and the discovery of who I think I might be. I write in longhand mostly or print. I choose not to use a computer because then it is so easy to hit the delete key and erase what you're truly saying! Besides that, I took some handwriting courses so I can look back at old entries and see what my thoughts really were and where my head really was at. Very enlightening!

I am looking forward to hearing from others.
Ginger

I write every day and I keep a journal to record events, thoughts, and ideas. I don't always read what I write and I write longhand. I took some writing classes and they helped me to learn how to journal. I also keep a blog but it's not public. I feel that writing is more permanent and it helps me when I don't want to carry negative thoughts with me during the day.
Lou

I journal or make notes daily (I got into the habit in 2013 during my first marriage when my spouse was a drug addict), and I currently use Apple Notes as I almost always have access to my iPhone or iPad. I have used other applications in the past (Evernote, Outlook). Sometimes I put down a lot, sometimes it's nothing more than "ugh" or "sigh" followed by a quick note of what it was.

And I do use a template each day, broken into three main sections:
Daily Notes:
What went right?
What could have gone better?

The notes section is where I write down everything and anything. The other two sections are for short bullet points ( "I exercised today!", "I am stress eating 🙁 ", "Person X upset me, grr") so I can go back at the end of the week and skim over them to review my accomplishments, trends, or areas I need to focus on to improve.

I journal or make notes daily (I got into the habit in 2013 during my first marriage when my spouse was a drug addict), and I currently use Apple Notes as I almost always have access to my iPhone or iPad. I have used other applications in the past (Evernote, Outlook). Sometimes I put down a lot, sometimes it's nothing more than "ugh" or "sigh" followed by a quick note of what it was.

And I do use a template each day, broken into three main sections:
Daily Notes:
What went right?
What could have gone better?

The notes section is where I write down everything and anything. The other two sections are for short bullet points ( "I exercised today!", "I am stress eating 🙁 ", "Person X upset me, grr") so I can go back at the end of the week and skim over them to review my accomplishments, trends, or areas I need to focus on to improve.

@ericinfl Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! I imagine having a template as you described must help you bring a sense of routine and habit to you. My dad was the same, he started every entry with a "weather report" plus where he was physically at. It created a format that was simple to repeat. And, I find myself following more of a "reporting" style before delving into the "notes" section like you do.

Thank you for sharing what has worked for you. So many ways to get yourself journaling. How have you seen your life change since starting journaling? More in tune with yourself? Calmer by "getting it ll out"?
Ginger

I find that the template, while simplistic, is often enough to get me going and generic enough to be flexible for whatever I need now.

Journaling has been of tremendous value over the years to me, as it allows me to retrospectively look back and look at what I noted, and ask myself "why?" and do some serious introspection. It was especially helpful when I was dealing with my first wife. It helped me realize that what /I first saw as helpful or caring behaviors were actually enabling her, and I was able to develop some healthier boundaries.

I journal or make notes daily (I got into the habit in 2013 during my first marriage when my spouse was a drug addict), and I currently use Apple Notes as I almost always have access to my iPhone or iPad. I have used other applications in the past (Evernote, Outlook). Sometimes I put down a lot, sometimes it's nothing more than "ugh" or "sigh" followed by a quick note of what it was.

And I do use a template each day, broken into three main sections:
Daily Notes:
What went right?
What could have gone better?

The notes section is where I write down everything and anything. The other two sections are for short bullet points ( "I exercised today!", "I am stress eating 🙁 ", "Person X upset me, grr") so I can go back at the end of the week and skim over them to review my accomplishments, trends, or areas I need to focus on to improve.