Journaling
Journaling
Journaling has been an important tool in my healing journey. For someone who tends to live in their head, writing things down seems to controls the “spiraling” of my mind. If I write it out and it doesn’t make sense, I am more easily able to realize that it is a distorted thought pattern rather than reality.
My Experience & Emotional Processing
Journaling is great for someone who has difficulty processing their feelings. I have written down so many feelings that I have gone through, some joyous, some painful, and all important. When I am looking back at previous journal entries I am able to more easily remember all of the different emotions that I have felt, honor them and realize that emotions come and go and that I do not have to be overwhelmed by them, and to just let them be.
If you struggle with identifying emotions as I did, I would recommend printing out a copy of the Emotion Wheel, and using it for guidance when trying to figure out what emotion you are feeling, over time you will find that you won't need it anymore.
Tools I Use (Pen & Paper)
I find that a physical journal is important, something about putting a pen to paper is cathartic. It was really difficult for me to be consistent with journaling until I got the right type of paper and pen. I imagine this is not going to resonant with everyone, but I find journaling to be a sensory experience, the texture of the paper, the quality of the ink and writing materials seem to make a difference for me, and is what got me to be really consistent.
I personally love fountain pens, the ink is so rich and easily flows from the nib, as compared to a ball point pen. If I could make a recommendation on what type of pen to get, I would say it would be the TWSBI Eco, it’s $35 which is kind of expensive for a pen, however it holds so much ink, and you can refill it indefinitely which makes it more affordable and eco-friendly in the long term. If you wanted a fountain pen with an ink cartridge, I would recommend the Lamy Safari.
Now with the fountain pens, you do need to use high quality paper otherwise it can bleed through the pages. I really like the Oasis Notebook (A5), which runs around $13 each. I also love handbound books, with coptic binding as it lays flat.
Closing Thoughts / Encouragement
Bottom line, find a pen and paper that you love, you can visit your local stationary store to try them out, and make it fun! At first when you journal you may not know what to write and what I would say is to just let things flow, no one else is going to read your journal so it doesn’t have to be complete sentences or grammatically correct, just like anything you learn to do, it gets better and easier as you do it more.
