Self-Care Series Part 1 – Journal/Write-It-Down!

Over the next several weeks I will be releasing a series of short blogs on self-care, based on many things that I do personally, and what I have observed in others. This will be a primer for a future self-care and life journey book to appear in 2016. Enjoy the journey!

This is the first blog in my Self-Care Series.

Journal/Write-It-Down!

Over the years I have been handed many journals from friends, family, and mentors encouraging me to write down my thoughts. Therapists have suggested journaling, and countless online and magazine self-help articles have sung the virtues of journaling. In high school my dad gave me a Kahlil Gibran themed journal that I poured my thoughts, dreams, and fears into. Yes, it was mainly stuff about girls, sports and music, but it was my space where on many days I was able to have a conversation with myself through the written word. I still have that journal, and often laugh at what I wrote, but at the time those were the most important expressions in the world to me. Each word I wrote was essential, and important to a young man whose world was changing every day, which often brought confusion, pain, and suffering.

I would continue to journal sporadically over the years, often mixed in with poems, story ideals, and political rants. A few years back my therapist encouraged me to buy a book called, The Artist Way, by Julia Cameron. I went out and bought it right after our session, and was immersed into the first few chapters within hours. The first lesson in the book was to start doing something she affectionately called “The Morning Pages”. The concept was instead of journaling at random times or not all, was to write as close as possible to awaking each morning. The goal is to write three pages each day in your journal. Subject and topic do not matter; you just get it out as you are at your rawest point of the day.

I have been journaling in this fashion for over 5 years, and it has been powerful. Journaling has improved my mood, provided a space for release, and helped to create more balance in my life. Friends that have picked up on this method also report the powerful nature of writing just as you rise. I journal typically somewhere in my house, and am accompanied by a class of water, and a cup of green tea. When traveling I have my journal, and green tea bags in tow. I start my day by facing and releasing the day before, and setting a course for each precious moment of the coming day.  

Regardless of how you choose to journal, journaling each day is a wonderful tool to address stress, anxiety, fear, and depression. It also creates a space to explore your hopes, dreams, and ambitions.