Using a Journal to Work Through Emotions

Using a Journal to Work Through Emotions

As we noted yesterday, a journal is different than a diary. The purpose of a journal is to work through things. It’s meant to allow you a space to explore thoughts, ideas, goals, dreams, and plans. It’s also an ideal tool for navigating emotions. Taking time to analyze and review your feelings is always beneficial. Performing this analysis through writing has some advantages of its own. Below, you’ll find information on what it means to journal your emotions and how to use a journal to work through emotions, along with the benefits that come with using your journal in this way. Check it out.

About Journaling Your Emotions
Using a journal to process your emotions doesn’t involve a rigid formula. It simply means that you’re taking the time to examine and process your feelings through writing. This can happen in any number of ways. Sometimes free writing without restrictions can help you to see patterns in your feelings and make decisions or judgments based upon the insights you receive. Journal prompts are another good way to begin exploring your emotions. The only requirement for this type of exercise is that you write about your feelings.

Benefits of Emotional Journaling
Taking time to sort through your feelings in a journal format can be beneficial to your mental wellbeing, along with providing other concrete advantages. Writing about your emotions can be a positive outlet, rather than keeping them bottled up inside. Getting them out of your thoughts lets you process and analyze them. The realizations you gain can be valuable to your healing and overall mental state. You receive a broader picture and new perspective on situations and events once you express your emotions through writing. This can lead to better decision making and moving toward positive outcomes.

Tips for Getting Started
There are countless ways to get started with emotional journaling. Feel free to just start writing about your current life situation. This free writing exercise will generally lead to some exploration of your feelings regarding these circumstances. Another helpful technique is to write in the third-person about a situation that you’re currently facing. This distances you from the situation and allows you to see it from a new perspective. Another useful exercise is to try to access your inner child by writing questions relating to your situation with your non-dominant hand. You can then answer those questions with your primary hand. This trick can bring about some interesting revelations.

Journaling to work through your emotions is a beneficial practice, no matter how you decide to approach it. Take some time to experiment with different techniques. You’ll likely find the process to be very useful and cathartic.

5 Easy Ways To Make Journaling A Creative Outlet

5 Easy Ways To Make Journaling A Creative Outlet

Journaling as a Creative Outlet

Like any task, journaling can seem a bit tedious at first. It’s a habit you need to cultivate in order for it to seem natural. One way to make this easier is to remember that this is your personal place to use as you wish. Injecting some creativity into your journaling can help to make it more fun for you and increase your motivation to maintain this new practice. Take a look at the tips below for some inspiration on using your journal as a creative outlet.

Add Some Color
One of the easiest ways to jazz things up is to add color to your journal. Use colored pens or markers for title pages or to divide pages into sections. You may even wish to write in colored pens if you really want to make your pages pop.

Add Props
Another easy way to perk up your pages is to use props. Things like stickers or washi tape can be a fun way to insert some personal flair into your journaling. This is especially useful for those who don’t like to draw or who feel their artistic skills are lacking.

Doodle and Draw
If you would like to express yourself through drawing, there’s no better place to do that than in your journal. Doodles in the margins or in between entries can be a way to flesh out your ideas or just to add a little extra something. You can take the idea even further by creating a section in your journal for your drawings. Take a full page to draw pictures using your medium of choice. This can be quite therapeutic.

Write Poetry
If you like to play with words, perhaps poetry might be your thing. Writing a poem or two can be a wonderful way to explore your feelings, along with getting those creative juices flowing. Give it a shot, if you’re so inclined.

Make a Collage
If you want to add some visual appeal to your journal but don’t want to draw, why not consider making a collage? Cut photos from a magazine or print images online to use. Find photos or words that appeal to you and glue them on a page of your journal. You can treat this as a vision board or mood board if you’d like. The pictures can help direct your focus to your goals and desires.

This is just a handful of ideas to get you started. Have fun using your journal to fuel your creativity and move you forward. Enjoy the process.

 

Check out our Journals and Planners with Full Commercial Use Rights!