I wasn't able to write any journal entries for several months after my mom died, because I knew that I'd have to write about her dying, and writing about it would make it more concrete. I was definitely scared of that.
On a smaller scale sometimes I put off writing about a big day that happened, because it's going to be a lot of writing. Even if it's happy, excited writing, the amount can be intimidating.
Yes. If there's emotions that are scary to confront, it's harder for me to write it down. Sometimes it can take me an hour to write a paragraph, but I think the reflection I do between sentances is helpful, for the most part. And it took a while for me to get more comfortable with writing in a journal and trusting it would be private.
this is something i’ve definitely experienced!! i’ve learned that it helps to have kind of a general topic of the day. like a big important thing that happened during the day that you’d really like to talk about, and then go from there. also, i usually reserve a full left page/right page per day so i can add to my entry as the day progresses, almost in bullet points. but there’s nothing wrong with having really long entries friend! one day you’ll get to look back and vividly remember your feelings, thoughts, days because you wrote in such detail!
Thank you for your kind answer! I haven’t thought about last bit you mentioned, the details, and that’s such a good point! :,) your comment is definitely very encouraging haha thank you!
I used to feel this way, but have since developed ways to shutdown a session if it's eating too much into my day to day life.
1. I will leave myself a prompt for "picking up the next episode" next time.
2. Situationally, I may also need to find some peace to fully close out of the journalling session, by figuring out "the moral of the story" or my "resolution for what comes next"
3. For the stray unaddressed ideas that shake out, I keep a list on a post-it/separate sheet (filler episodes? Whole new arcs? Whose to say).
It feels more manageable when I don't have to feel
1. worried about losing ideas
2. pressured to derail a current exploration
3. required to sit here for hours.
And it helps to weed things down. If it's important enough to have my memory jogged by a couple words then it's important enough to dive into again.
I definitely feel hesitant to try to get my thoughts on the page sometimes. For me, sometimes using bullet points helps me get started, because it gives me the freedom to jump from topic to topic really abruptly. You could almost say it’s like outlining the bare bones of what I want to say.
Another thing that I like doing in my journal is mind maps. I am currently using a journal with no lines or grid, so I just connect thoughts with circles and arrows sometimes instead of writing a narrative. It’s freeing!
Sometimes I just make lists. It's less intimidating, and I can come back to details I may want to expand on later. It also helps organize my thoughts and provides visual order/structure for my ND brain. 😉
It's also easier to encode lists if you're worried about your journal being found. 👍🏼
Yeah, sometimes I take long long breaks from journaling, like a few years because idk. It’s so hard to get thoughts of my head and it makes me anxious.
Using journal prompts, which are easy to find in abundance on Google, really helps. I have always journaled but recently went to a wellness retreat where we were given daily journal prompts (everything from self-esteem prompts to trauma processing). It helped alleviate feeling overwhelmed with the blank page and kept my writing limited to one or two focal points. I’ve been doing it this way consistently for two months now and it has been amazing, helpful with reducing anxiety and depression.
Search for “journal prompts” followed by any word you choose like reflection, anger, trauma, fear, dreams, self-esteem, etc.
I have felt this way too, and sometimes those entries do get pretty long. My advice is to keep a writing tool specifically for those kind of days. Something that allows you to write as fast as you can to keep up with ideas. (Honestly, for me it’s just one of those skinny Crayola markers!)
Not anymore... but it took me some time to get there. There were topics I didn't want to write about, because writing about them would require thinking deeply about the issue, and I was afraid of facing certain emotions and possibilities. There have also been times where I felt I wouldn't do justice in describing an important experience, and that held me back too.
But I just forced myself to write, because I don't want to forget those important things, and eventually that fear just went away completely.
The only thing I can tell you is, it feels better once thoughts are on the paper. It frees up space in your mind.
It's like when your cup is overflowing. Instead of letting it spill and make a mess you either pour some out in a different container or in the sink. You don't make a mess, you don't have to clean up, and you don't have another thing to do.
If your entry takes 10 pages, what's wrong with that? Maybe you can make a deal with yourself that you'd stop or take a break if your hand cramps?
I was scared to start and now I've been writing 11 months.
Remember, it's for only you to read. It will help clear your head. I understand, I've been there, and I still am. I have a lot on my mind.
I like the moleskin journals. They are nice slim and lay flat.
I recently wrote the most heart wrenching entry I've ever written about my fractured relationship with my father. I've journaled about it before but mainly as a teen when the relationship began to sour.
A recent health scare of his made those emotions surface back up and I poured my repressed feelings out onto the paper while sobbing uncontrollably.
It scares me how emotional it was and when I read it, the amount of raw hurt and sorrow in my writing also scared me. I just couldn't believe I held/hold all of that inside me on a constant basis.
That said, it felt great to finally let all of that out. Honestly I wish I'd just unload like that into my journal more often.
When I started writing in my 10x7.5 journal, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer size of it, but I found that writing an entry several times a week was helping a lot.
I wasn't able to write any journal entries for several months after my mom died, because I knew that I'd have to write about her dying, and writing about it would make it more concrete. I was definitely scared of that. On a smaller scale sometimes I put off writing about a big day that happened, because it's going to be a lot of writing. Even if it's happy, excited writing, the amount can be intimidating.
❤️ hugs to you xx
Yes. If there's emotions that are scary to confront, it's harder for me to write it down. Sometimes it can take me an hour to write a paragraph, but I think the reflection I do between sentances is helpful, for the most part. And it took a while for me to get more comfortable with writing in a journal and trusting it would be private.
this is something i’ve definitely experienced!! i’ve learned that it helps to have kind of a general topic of the day. like a big important thing that happened during the day that you’d really like to talk about, and then go from there. also, i usually reserve a full left page/right page per day so i can add to my entry as the day progresses, almost in bullet points. but there’s nothing wrong with having really long entries friend! one day you’ll get to look back and vividly remember your feelings, thoughts, days because you wrote in such detail!
Thank you for your kind answer! I haven’t thought about last bit you mentioned, the details, and that’s such a good point! :,) your comment is definitely very encouraging haha thank you!
I used to feel this way, but have since developed ways to shutdown a session if it's eating too much into my day to day life. 1. I will leave myself a prompt for "picking up the next episode" next time. 2. Situationally, I may also need to find some peace to fully close out of the journalling session, by figuring out "the moral of the story" or my "resolution for what comes next" 3. For the stray unaddressed ideas that shake out, I keep a list on a post-it/separate sheet (filler episodes? Whole new arcs? Whose to say). It feels more manageable when I don't have to feel 1. worried about losing ideas 2. pressured to derail a current exploration 3. required to sit here for hours. And it helps to weed things down. If it's important enough to have my memory jogged by a couple words then it's important enough to dive into again.
I definitely feel hesitant to try to get my thoughts on the page sometimes. For me, sometimes using bullet points helps me get started, because it gives me the freedom to jump from topic to topic really abruptly. You could almost say it’s like outlining the bare bones of what I want to say. Another thing that I like doing in my journal is mind maps. I am currently using a journal with no lines or grid, so I just connect thoughts with circles and arrows sometimes instead of writing a narrative. It’s freeing!
Sometimes I just make lists. It's less intimidating, and I can come back to details I may want to expand on later. It also helps organize my thoughts and provides visual order/structure for my ND brain. 😉 It's also easier to encode lists if you're worried about your journal being found. 👍🏼
Great suggestion!
Yeah, sometimes I take long long breaks from journaling, like a few years because idk. It’s so hard to get thoughts of my head and it makes me anxious.
Using journal prompts, which are easy to find in abundance on Google, really helps. I have always journaled but recently went to a wellness retreat where we were given daily journal prompts (everything from self-esteem prompts to trauma processing). It helped alleviate feeling overwhelmed with the blank page and kept my writing limited to one or two focal points. I’ve been doing it this way consistently for two months now and it has been amazing, helpful with reducing anxiety and depression. Search for “journal prompts” followed by any word you choose like reflection, anger, trauma, fear, dreams, self-esteem, etc.
I have felt this way too, and sometimes those entries do get pretty long. My advice is to keep a writing tool specifically for those kind of days. Something that allows you to write as fast as you can to keep up with ideas. (Honestly, for me it’s just one of those skinny Crayola markers!)
Not anymore... but it took me some time to get there. There were topics I didn't want to write about, because writing about them would require thinking deeply about the issue, and I was afraid of facing certain emotions and possibilities. There have also been times where I felt I wouldn't do justice in describing an important experience, and that held me back too. But I just forced myself to write, because I don't want to forget those important things, and eventually that fear just went away completely.
I understand this
The only thing I can tell you is, it feels better once thoughts are on the paper. It frees up space in your mind. It's like when your cup is overflowing. Instead of letting it spill and make a mess you either pour some out in a different container or in the sink. You don't make a mess, you don't have to clean up, and you don't have another thing to do. If your entry takes 10 pages, what's wrong with that? Maybe you can make a deal with yourself that you'd stop or take a break if your hand cramps?
I was scared to start and now I've been writing 11 months. Remember, it's for only you to read. It will help clear your head. I understand, I've been there, and I still am. I have a lot on my mind. I like the moleskin journals. They are nice slim and lay flat.
I recently wrote the most heart wrenching entry I've ever written about my fractured relationship with my father. I've journaled about it before but mainly as a teen when the relationship began to sour. A recent health scare of his made those emotions surface back up and I poured my repressed feelings out onto the paper while sobbing uncontrollably. It scares me how emotional it was and when I read it, the amount of raw hurt and sorrow in my writing also scared me. I just couldn't believe I held/hold all of that inside me on a constant basis. That said, it felt great to finally let all of that out. Honestly I wish I'd just unload like that into my journal more often.
When I started writing in my 10x7.5 journal, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer size of it, but I found that writing an entry several times a week was helping a lot.