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Journaling - The Write Stuff For You?
Just Want to Talk | Last Active: Dec 6, 2025 | Replies (561)Comment receiving replies
@gingerw there's a lot to be said for putting pen to paper because just the action of that helps you become present in the moment- it's very calming to focus your mind on only what your hands are doing - so its very therapeutic on many levels- and having to sit in what your feeling and process any troubling emotions in a way that you can convey into words and letting them out - its got to be so beneficial for our emotional well being.. and recording little details that would've been lost in time and forgotten- what a joy for a distant family member in generations to come to connect with you because they get passed down their great great grandparents journals.. like a time machine fir them to step into and come back to get to know you
Replies to "@gingerw there's a lot to be said for putting pen to paper because just the action..."
@visibleghost33 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. For most all of my life I have been a proponent of putting pen to paper, or brush, basically doing something that lets my brain express what might be going on. It's a different part of the brain that is activated when the hands are involved in a task like that, versus pounding something out on a keyboard. I have kept my journals, and they have morphed over time. A lot of my poetry is in there.
Like @crabby55, I am not so sure about wanting family to read them after I am gone, but hey! I won't be here to say anything/refute anything, defend myself, right? As we are coming to the turn of the calendar year, making decisions to parse out my writings, perhaps a separate journal for poetry, another for musings, another for artwork. Ah! decisions, decisions!
Ginger
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@visibleghost33
I wouldn't want anyone to ever read my ramblings. Perhaps especially thinking of that in generations to come Yikes! I'll journal only occasionally when I'm having conflict of some sort. It really helps me get to the bottom of what I am feeling and get some kind of resolve. For instance I had been complaining to a friend about a disagreement I had with someone. She stated that I'd been having the same disagreement with this person since she knew me. I was sure this time was different. I started dating and journaling the conversations I had with this person. Seeing it written down I realized how often these conversations took place and how difficult this person was with me. I had been able to overlook so much until I saw it written. Sometimes writing when I was pissed off with someone, as I would write, I would get clarity. I really want pissed off at all but my feelings were hurt. The writings weren't always pretty. Plenty scratched out and rewritten. Writing what sometimes wasn't very legible but rereading and making changes. Writing things out can bring a change in perspective.