1. < Just Want to Talk
Mentor

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.

kayraymat | @kayraymat | 2 days ago
In reply to @marjou "I use journaling as a way of getting thoughts out of my head. I'm from the..." + (show)
@marjou

I use journaling as a way of getting thoughts out of my head. I'm from the generation of letter writing but seems that art is no longer. Now I wish that I had pen pal. I do try and write every day sometimes a list of what I was able to accomplish even with this darn depression and if I can't write that day I just put down " no writing today". Have been doing this for about 10 years but can't muster the courage to go back and read them. Oh well...

Jump to this post

Don't worry about courage.
What you wrote earlier
will make you laugh, cry?, & wonder why certain things
were so important at the time. Or you may see how far you have come psychologically, emotionally,.....or not 🙂
Go for it! Good luck.

REPLY
kayraymat | @kayraymat | 2 days ago
In reply to @pvctom2021 "@gingerw Thanks Ginger, That sounds interesting and I will try that…I’m not sure what the answer..." + (show)
@pvctom2021

@gingerw
Thanks Ginger,

That sounds interesting and I will try that…I’m not sure what the answer will be… and I don’t understand the answer being written with the non dominant hand… but I will try it tomorrow morning when my anxious thought 💭 gets me upon awakening…very interesting 🤨

Jump to this post

Believe it or not, ( the non-dominant hand writing and/ or drawing) it has helped cure some folk with
depression......well probably not "cure" but alieviate
some. See GRANDMA LAYTON I think from Kansas.

REPLY
Mentor
Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | 2 days ago

Do you sometimes wonder if you have the right pathway, or are doing what you can to help yourself? There are a couple of things I look forward to in my inbox, to help prompt me in my writings.

The Resilient Option, by Dr. Amit Sood is one of them. Five out of seven days each week, an email comes in with a perspective and insight, inviting me to think and write out my response to some words of wisdom.

The other one is https://mindfulmornings.club/ that sends out a newsletter after you have subscribed. Very thought provoking and helps me sit down to write on a topic.

There are times in our lives we want to change things up, and might feel hesitant to do so. We're comfortable where we are, something new can be scary, how successful will we be trying something new, etc, right?! Sometimes it is something small to make a change. I recently bought a new journal to write longhand in. It takes the place of a binder used since 2021, adding pages as I wrote on them. Doesn't sound like a lot, does it? But for now it has spurred me back to writing each day.

What little change have you done recently, that reignited the fire to write? Time of day? Where you write? A new pen? Tell us here!
Ginger

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Miriam, Volunteer Mentor | @mir123 | 2 days ago
In reply to @gingerw "Do you sometimes wonder if you have the right pathway, or are doing what you can..." + (show)
@gingerw

Do you sometimes wonder if you have the right pathway, or are doing what you can to help yourself? There are a couple of things I look forward to in my inbox, to help prompt me in my writings.

The Resilient Option, by Dr. Amit Sood is one of them. Five out of seven days each week, an email comes in with a perspective and insight, inviting me to think and write out my response to some words of wisdom.

The other one is https://mindfulmornings.club/ that sends out a newsletter after you have subscribed. Very thought provoking and helps me sit down to write on a topic.

There are times in our lives we want to change things up, and might feel hesitant to do so. We're comfortable where we are, something new can be scary, how successful will we be trying something new, etc, right?! Sometimes it is something small to make a change. I recently bought a new journal to write longhand in. It takes the place of a binder used since 2021, adding pages as I wrote on them. Doesn't sound like a lot, does it? But for now it has spurred me back to writing each day.

What little change have you done recently, that reignited the fire to write? Time of day? Where you write? A new pen? Tell us here!
Ginger

Jump to this post

I'd been keeping a 1-line/sentence per day journal for a while as a file on my laptop. January 1 I got a pretty notebook and went back to long hand. I'm enjoying it more! The 1-line is a way for me to track how I'm feeling--mood, pain level, etc. But often it turns into a tiny poem about what I'm observing and enjoying day to day.

REPLY
pvctom2021 | @pvctom2021 | 21 hours ago

Hello to all

The weekend is here and it’s balmy but overall pleasant..we continue with more medical telemeds next week with my wife’s PCM…I have been praying 🙏 my short prayer over and over deeply… I want my soul to be open for God’s help and comfort, when I do this , something gets in…when I awake, my morning anxiety is strong and most unnerving.. I can’t think about not having my wife next to me…my dreadful thoughts of being alone in this world can overwhelm me…that is when I pray the most and get MOVING…she still needs to get her oral surgery done and some beautiful replacement teeth..it gets terribly lonely at times and that’s when I find myself saying such a sort prayer for God to please help me with my worry and fears…this Tuesday our PCM will hopefully address her new BP med issue with her and suggest an alternative..I saw a young lady yesterday on my way to the mall standing and walking back and forth along the cement barrier with a sign ‘please help
Chronic illness, homeless…’ whether it be true or something else,I thought what a horrible way for such a young lady to have to spend a hot muggy day waving to drivers and displaying her sign with her bag resting at the end of the cement barrier…and I thought as I drove by how lucky I have been….even in my most dire straits, I’ve never had to pan handle… it’s sad and we have a lot of it here where we live…I wish all that come here a safe healthy weekend and I will remember to be grateful for what I have…🙏pvctom

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.