Journaling is different for everyone. It can be writing down your thoughts and feelings, it’s making a list of things you need to do, it can be making a list of things you are grateful for or going into detail about what you are grateful for today. Here’s an example of one type of journal entry. I went to lunch with my co-worker, Lisa. She was kind to drive. Once we arrived, we were greeted right away. The service was amazing. The food was average but I was full and there was enough to bring home. As we talked, we got to know each other better. I learned we are both mothers and wives. I really enjoyed my day.

There is no one way to do it. Make it your own. Journaling has lots of great benefits. It helps you improve communication skills, sleep better and increases happiness and well-being. Journaling reduces anger, worry and pain. Journaling enhances emotional intelligence. You can get your feelings out on paper and make sense of your emothions. You learn to express yourself clearly by developing your voice.

When you journal, there are multiple things you can include in your body of work. As you begin the journaling process, your mind begins to open up. You may make the decision to journal abouit your day prior to bedtime. Then, you’ll notice that you are mindfully thinking about your day and your behavior as you will write about it later.

Journaling can include writing about your thoughts, feelings and ideas. When you begin acknowledging your negative thoughts, you can get them out of your head and onto paper. Begin to focus on your triggers and your feelings.

Journaling can be used to write a to do with things you would like to accomplished. If you did not acomplish the things on your do to list, you can write down what stopped you from accomplishing your daily goals. When you do complete your list, write down how you felt and describe your day which allowed you to make these accomplishments. As you read back on this journal, you will have a guide on what works for you.

Expressive writing is another form of journaling. It was developed by psychologist, Dr. James Pennebaker. He ran a study in 1986 in which the experimental group wrote about traumatic experiences. They found that people who practiced expresive writing had decreased anxiety, blood pressure, depression, muscle tension, pain and stress.

Journaling can help boost critical thinking skills. After you write down your thoughts, you can begin thinking about the decision you made. Was it a good one? Was there other decisions you could of made and what were they? Write it all down. By doing this process, you open yourself up to different options.

When you journal, you may choose to keep your journal or destroy it. If you keep your journals, looking back at challenges you had in the past and how you made it to the other side will allow you to see your strenghts. While you are journaling, you can be as specific as you like. You can focus on areas you would like to improve

Writing out your concerns, worries and problems is something you can do when journaling. Use problem solving skills to brainstorm solutionss. Begin to think what resources (internal and external) you have available to help solve problems. Journaling helps to loook at other perspectives other than your own.

As you can see, journaling is amazing. Give it a honest try for a least 4 times a week once a month to see if you notice any differences in your functioning. If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to [email protected].