Anyone "do" journalling? (ie, writing down thoughts/feelings to make sense of them)

Citygirl1

Very interesting thread. What kind of notebook do you all use to journal in? I go from using hard backed books to exercise books and even loose leaf paper to put in a ring binder but that didn't feel the same.

I once threw out ten years worth of journals because I worried about them being found and have regretted it ever since which is why I wouldn't throw them out now as I have built them back up again.

I worry about them being found after I've gone, I know it sounds morbid, but my brother would have to sort my stuff out if I were to go before him, he is my next of kin now as our parents have died. At one time my brother and I weren't very close and I did write stuff in my journals that I was thinking at the time, though nothing nasty, but just negative thoughts. We get on fine now and are close but I worry incase he or his wife ever read what I wrote years ago.

There are also things I have written that I wouldn't want my boyfriend to read and he is nosey, he doesn't live with me but he does come round to my flat and he has a key so can get in when I am out.

But you are right, you can't just not write on the basis of 'what if' and you have to write for yourself otherwise it defeats the purpose.

summerday

Yes, and I'd recommend it to anyone. I started when I was 17, going through a difficult time, but didn't feel there was anyone I could talk to deeply about things, so I really did write 'Dear Diary...' as if I was writing to another person, even though no other eyes have ever seen it. It's literally just a ringbinder filled with A4 ruled sheets, I wrote regularly in my late teens/early 20s but far less often now. Usually now I write when I have things troubling my mind, usually in bed before I sleep and it makes me feel 'unburdened' somehow, less troubled and more able to sleep. When I've had horrible things happen to me, starting to write has helped me release my emotions and come to terms with things.

I don't ever tend to read back on it, and would feel a bit embarassed about how immature I was at 17 I think and what concerned me then, but one day when I'm old I might appreciate it as a memento of my youth I guess... but I made my husband promise never to look at it and I know he wouldn't as he's not into reading in any form anyway. I also made him promise to burn it if I die before him!

Citygirl1

Hi do you find using loose leaf paper works ok?

UnluckyT

Ive used diary's as well as note books and prefer to use something like a note book as ive got more space than a diary to write plus as and when i feel i need to, often when things are troubling me or have a lot on my mind.
I find that also with a diary theirs more pressure i feel to write because of the dated spaces, where as with a notebook i can pick it up as and when, to write as little or as much as i feel need to.
Plus with a notebook i like to decorate it as i go along with perhaps stickers, pictures from magazines or photographts, perhaps adding a note or two? Had counselling too and it has been recomended a few times plus when i did a course with Mind, it was suggested plus we were given a notebook to use.
I find it a great way to 'off load' release stress as well as make sense of things. I also worry about the security of it, been tempted to carry it with me or get something safe to store it in perhaps?
Been temted to use a4 hole punched sheets with folders or the plastic folders with the metal bits you fold up and down when you want to take the sheets out or put them back?

Citygirl1

It is handy using loose leaf sheets and putting them in a binder as you can just take the odd sheets out with you rather than the whole thing but there's something about writing in an actual notebook and individual sheets of paper don't seem to have the same effect somehow.

erdd2

I enter events/facts on one side with how I felt/reacted on the other side...can be insightful and helpful when doing so and also when looking back to see how I have/have not changed negatives in my life.

I tend not to do so much journalling these days but have been inspired by this thread to maybe dig them out:beer:

summerday

Citygirl- it works just fine for me, means if I feel the need to write I can do it anywhere as long as I can scavenge a sheet of A4 paper, then add it to the file later. The file is all in perfect order with dates at the top of each sheet.

Citygirl1

Sounds good, do you ever do entries on the computer. I do tend to like to have entries running on though which I might find difficult on loose paper. I've often considered using the A5 binders though.

busiscoming2

I first wrote a 'journal' when my first marriage was breaking up, it started as diary entries but escalated to writing in a big hardback book sometimes in the middle of the night. It helped me cope, I suppose it was a substitute for talking to anyone as I kept it a secret from everyone until the near the end.
I have never re read what I wrote but the book and diary are in the loft so may do one day.

Second time was after my mum died a few years ago, again to help me cope with my emotions and to talk to someone without boring them!

silverjay

If security is an issue how about setting up an email account to receive your journal entries? You could then delete the sent copy off your computer and login to the email if you ever need to look back on them.

Personally I prefer handwriting my personal stuff as I am less likely to scan it and correct it. If it is on the screen I tend to scan it and check for grammar/presentation and rearrange it to look better so you lose the flow.

There is a therapy technique based on writing a page a day when you get up in the morning before doing anything else. If only I could train myself to get up earlier to do it lol