From breathing exercises to ingenious apps, we are overwhelmed with techniques to control our “anxiety” but there is only one method that has stood the test of time as a recommended way to dispose of our unwanted thoughts and emotions…. Journaling.
Journaling is a tried and tested way to start understanding what makes you tick or what ticks you off. It seems on the face of things to be a pretty big commitment, but the only commitment you are making is to yourself; that commitment doesn't have to be every day, just those days you feel you need it.
These are the following reasons I've heard for not keeping a journal:
Not enough time
Don’t know what to say
It’s stupid to talk to myself
What’s the point?
There are more important things to be doing
I’m not saying these aren’t valid. We live in a society which is fast-paced. We generally always have something to be getting on with that we rate as a higher priority, whether that be work, family, bills, sports or dramas, but these matters can’t be resolved properly if we ourselves are not in a place of coherency. When there is too much going on in our head, we lose sight of what is truly important. Maybe we have had a falling out with a loved one, but we don’t have time to think about that right now and as that day progresses we are faced with new challenges, whether they be an urgent work meeting you’d forgotten about or as little as a hole in your sock; by the time you get home you are in such a foul mood but you can’t decide or understand what exactly it was that set you off in the first place. As those issues build up you just throw your hands in the air and decide “you’ve had enough” everything has gone wrong and you are drowning.
A typical day can quickly turn into something "unmanageable" as I've displayed here using this triad.
How can you possibly understand your root cause of concern when the build-up as muddled your brain? Which one is most important?
I know to look at this you may be able to pinpoint the root cause, but when you live it we all know how confusing it can be. Just going to show how beneficial it is to see the day broken down.
It’s never all those things that have annoyed you. It just feels like your head is exploding with tasks, duties and commitments and those points from before become even more valid. Let me re-write those points for you now:
Not enough time: I need 10 minutes for myself
I don’t know what to say: I should get everything laid out in front of me
It’s stupid to talk to myself: It’s not stupid to put myself in a better state of mind
What’s the point: Once I’ve done this, I can make clearer decisions
There are more important things to be doing: Nothing is more important than my mental health
Now I’m not saying you have to or should write every day, a journal is simply a resource that is there to listen to you and help you make sense of an otherwise chaotic time in your life and it does so without giving an opposing opinion or producing advice.
An empty page can seem daunting, I’ve looked at the same empty page and thought “I’m not special, I have nothing of interest to say” but you are not writing a novel and nor am I. Nothing you are going through is unimportant or frugal to a journal. It’s something of yours that’s for you.
It can be the ultimate accomplishment to get a handle of yourself, your thoughts and emotions. Understanding who you are and how you deal with things can only be beneficial to your life and the lives of the people you share your life with, right? If you still have a fear of writing, of the unknown. The Discovery Journal is a diary of my own creation, otherwise referred to as a “bullet journal". A style of writing which is broken down into section, much like you would see in notebooks to formulate the day’s tasks, goals and accomplishments.
But this is a journal for mental health and not a notebook. The Discovery Journal helps you compartmentalise the day's events; putting them into “boxes” with the aim to shorten the amount of time you’d spend aimlessly sprawling the day out in excoriating detail and instead narrow it down into manageable chunks and get to the root cause with efficacy.
Easily organise your thoughts
Complete your entry in minutes
Read back to see how far you've come
No half-filled pages
Learn more about the Discovery Journal by visiting our website.