Writing a diary/journal

LegacyUser

Hi,

I was wondering whether writing a daily journal entry for a few months was of any help to any posters here?

I was advised by an old counsellor a to do so, at the time I thought it was a bit twee but I'm coming around to the idea. I think it would be good to see what I find important and how I react to certain situations or people. My only worry would be someone finding it, especially if I'm being completely honest in the diary.

Advice and experience appreciated.

shalalala

I have had one on and off my whole life. In my adult life it has helped me deal with very stressful situations like travelling alone and the end of a long term relationship. Some people blog it, some people put pen to paper.

Personally it gets out how I feel so I don't carry it on to the next day. It stops that annoying inner monologue that you can have that stops you from processing things. Once I write how I am feeling down I can start to get over it.

Bit of a ramble I know but I hope this helps

CyrilFiggis

It's definitely therapeutic. If you're worried about someone finding it and reading it you could just write it in a google document or as an email draft so that it's password protected.

Neyite

duckduckgoose wrote: »

Hi,

I was wondering whether writing a daily journal entry for a few months was of any help to any posters here?

I was advised by an old counsellor a to do so, at the time I thought it was a bit twee but I'm coming around to the idea. I think it would be good to see what I find important and how I react to certain situations or people. My only worry would be someone finding it, especially if I'm being completely honest in the diary.

Advice and experience appreciated.

I had a journal on the recommendation of my GP in the aftermath of a pretty awful relationship and breakup. Found it very therapudic, and it was helpful to write 'to' people in it whatever my thoughts were that day - venting, sad, angry, hurt whatever.

Then down the line it was nice to read back to the beginning and see how far I came. When I didnt need it anymore, I burnt it.

Why not set up a second email account, then email your thoughts to it. That's accessable, secure and private, and easily deleted whenever you want.

LemonWorld

Hi OP,

I'd definitely recommend it. I find writing things down incredibly therapeutic. Any time I'm finding it difficult to sleep, or I've a lot on my mind, I grab a pen and paper and start scribbling. It's great to visualize what's going on in your head by listing it all out in front of you.

Like you, I was also worried about people finding it, so I usually just tear out whatever page I've used and destroy it afterwards. Might sound a tad extreme but it's the only way I can guarantee I'll be totally honest with myself. The obvious disadvantage is that you can't look back over what you've written to assess how things of changes, or how you're doing, but really it's all down to whatever you're happiest with.

Best of luck and happy writing!

maroon

Started writing it when going through the bad break up (Not teenager anymore). Very helpful, I can be completely honest there and address the issues that bother me without pretending.


People (friends rather than therapist obviously) tend to be judgmental, even if they don't say it to your face. In diary you get to be 100% you, painfully honest, best way to address the issue, much easier to move on.

Just keep it safe, password protected document as suggested above would be a good idea.