Do you keep a personal Journal? **Not Food**

kiwipez

I am taking a class on Personal Journaling and need help with a homework assignment. (I have tried and failed to start journaling a number of times and I am hoping a class will get me on the right track)

I am supposed to find 3 people that journal, but no one I know keeps a journal - or no one will admit to it.

If you would like to help I have to get answers to the following questions:
(feel free to message me if you prefer)

1. What led you to begin journaling?
2. How often do/did you journal?
3. What tools or techniques help you to journal?
4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling?

Thank you, Thank you , Thank you!!
Mary

Qarol

I write a private blog...no one can read it. It's my personal journal. It's therapeutic. I like to write down my darkest thoughts. When I'm pissed off. Who I'm pissed off with. When I'm sad and no one wants to know. Or even when I've had a great day or weekend. I'll write an entry 2-3 times a week.

carrie145

I used to keep a journal. I really had no one to talk to and I was in a really bad marriage. It helped to get those feelings out. I kept it up as I went through my divorce and started my new life..
I don't keep one for myself anymore, but when I found out I was pregnant, I started one for my daughter. She's now almost three. I wrote about my feelings through my pregnancy, the first time I felt her kick, things like that. Now that she's here, I write about her "firsts", vacations we go on, things we do as a family, or just a little note to tell her how I feel about her. I hope to give it to her for her 18th birthday. For some reason I don't remember much about my childhood, and I think it will be nice for her to have something to look back on...

healthy_KT

I write in a word document using the notebook layout. I probably write in it about once a week or so. I have it password protected so if someone goes on my computer they can't open it. I don't always write about my life. Sometimes I just write to write. If I have an idea or a thought I write it out.

ChristinaLConway

I am taking a class on Personal Journaling and need help with a homework assignment. (I have tried and failed to start journaling a number of times and I am hoping a class will get me on the right track)

I am supposed to find 3 people that journal, but no one I know keeps a journal - or no one will admit to it.

If you would like to help I have to get answers to the following questions:
(feel free to message me if you prefer)

1. What led you to begin journaling?
2. How often do/did you journal?
3. What tools or techniques help you to journal?
4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling?

Thank you, Thank you , Thank you!!
Mary

I journal and I feel no shame in it

1-I began journaling when I was a kid and have kept one off an one for many years. Each time I start again it is due to some stress in my life I need some place to vent about.

2-I journal whenever the mood strikes me. That may be everyday for weeks and then not again for months.

3-I dont feel that I use any tools to journal other than picking a favorite pen and journal that appeals to me, I do prefer to be alone when I do it.

4-I feel relieved when I get things off my chest many times just talking to friends or family about it does not help. When I take the time to write it down I can let it go and focus on the rest of my life. Some days Im just dying to get to my journal, others I forget I even have it.

Hope that helps, I remember the days of HW, if you need more feel free to message me

yoshi91610

Yes I journal.


1. What led you to begin journaling? I was in High School, and there was so much that I wasn't allowed to say, and I had very bad trust issues so I thought I would write down my thoughts and not be judged for them

2. How often do/did you journal? I used to everyday, now once a week or month, I love looking back and seeing how much I have changed

3. What tools or techniques help you to journal? I try to make the journal and expressive (as far as decorating it goes) so that it reflects who I am at the time, I also like to listen to music and just write thats what really keeps my journal going,

4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling? I'm not sure if everyone is like this, but I am not the type of person who just says what is on her mind because it's on her mind, I know that there are certain times and places to say things and not to say things, so when I have certain feelings and no way to express them I journal them, sometimes I re-read it and say wow, that was really dumb to be mad/sad over, or I look at it and say, wow I should really tell so-and-so that really bothered me or hurt me so it doesn't happen again. Journaling keeps all my thoughts in a row, and really lets me "*****-it-out" if I need.

melissabee31

I love journaling and have been an active journaler my whole life.

1. What led you to begin journaling?

Writing is the way I organize my life, whether it be in lists, in poetry, or free writing. Writing was someTHING I could turn to when I did not have someONE.

2. How often do/did you journal?

I have journaled on and off my whole life, probably since I was 12. I now aim to journal at least once a week. I really want to journal more though.

3. What tools or techniques help you to journal?

I have tried journaliing online or writing in word. Tools that help me the most are a real notebook for a journal and a great black, inky pen. Also, setting time aside to journal helps me the most. Knowing in the back of my head that I am going to journal after all my chores are done or something really helps me enter a "free" mindset to relax enough to begin journaling.

4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling?

I can organize my thoughts. I can identify problems in my life and solve them through writing. I am not logical at all most of the time. I am very creative and live in my dreams. Writing, while creative for me, actually becomes more of a logical process because I have to think about each thought individually as I write it down. Because of this, I can understand my thoughts easier because I come "face to face" with them in my writing.

Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, feel free to message me.

byHISstrength

I used to keep a journal. I really had no one to talk to and I was in a really bad marriage. It helped to get those feelings out. I kept it up as I went through my divorce and started my new life..
I don't keep one for myself anymore, but when I found out I was pregnant, I started one for my daughter. She's now almost three. I wrote about my feelings through my pregnancy, the first time I felt her kick, things like that. Now that she's here, I write about her "firsts", vacations we go on, things we do as a family, or just a little note to tell her how I feel about her. I hope to give it to her for her 18th birthday. For some reason I don't remember much about my childhood, and I think it will be nice for her to have something to look back on...

What you are doing for your daughter is so awesome, and I'm sure she will treasure the gift.

melissabee31

Oh, and believe it or not, I journal about dieting and my food choices. Journaling about how I was unhappy with myself is what led me to start a diet in the first place.

wickedcricket

I journal. Have done most of my life.
1) I kept one as a teen & got back to it on advice of my therapist (as an adult) as a way to control racing thoughts. Sometimes I can't sleep or even think because stuff is running thru my head so fast I can't focus.
2) At least once a week. Whenever something momentous happens or when I can't sleep. Also when I'm upset/obsessing, I obsess in my journal cause my friends get tired of hearing it
3) well... I (um) collect ink pens (I don't know why) so I journal in different colors etc depending on my mood. My family knows about my journals so from time to time I receive new ones as gifts.
4) benefits? wow. it helps control my thoughts, helps me keep things straight. Helps me to recognize when I'm obsessing, depressed etc. Also beneficial when somebody remembers things differently than I do, I can refer to my journal for what actually happened

When I left my husband, I didn't get my journals out first & he kept them. In fact, refused to give them to me until AFTER the settlement and he was ordered to. He copied pages & I know he distributed them among his family & friends for entertainmet. I left him because the marriage wasn't working out I had NO idea HOW low he was. This betrayal left me unable to journal for over a year but I slowly got back to it. I'd say, pour your heart out in your journal but if you move - TAKE THEM WITH YOU FIRST THING! never let anybody get their hands on them, no matter who it is and how much you trust them. I keep mine hidden now.

mavers1

1. What led you to begin journaling?
It always felt like it was a way to work out all things in my head and something to look back on when I wondere what I was like in 7th grad (which is terrifying)

2. How often do/did you journal?
I try daily and I am successful most of the time.

3. What tools or techniques help you to journal?
A really beautiful book to write in is always a good motivator.

4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling?
I was able to figure out my problems better and communicate with other people better once I ranted to my journal.

sheisbrown

I do keep a personal journal and it has been something I have done for years (since I was a youngster). I do it because I have always been a writer and sometimes I need to write things out to express myself. It helps me sort out what is going on in my mind. I usually journal at least once per week if not more depending on what may be going on in my life. I don't do it everyday or even expect myself to do it everyday but I do find time do it on fairly regular basis. I don't know if I have any specific tools or techniquies but I always take time to find a nice journal every year that will be my jornal for that year. I usually place it by my bed, on my nightstand just to remind myself to do it before I go to sleep at night. The benefits I recieve from it are mostly clarity about decisions I make. A chance to spend some time on myself and I also use it as a reflection tool to focus on what I am happy or grateful for in the day or week.

Hope this helps ya.

chevy88grl

I keep a private blog on another website. I use it as somewhere that I can say whatever is in my mind and not worry about making some mad or hurting their feelings. It is where I get all my emotions out. I started it 10 years ago when my grandma had a heart attack and I seriously thought I would go crazy with worry about her. I've continued it - though I don't write everyday or even once a week sometimes. It is really where I turn where I'm just totally fed up.

Kany

Yes I keep a private journal that I write in sporadically. I used to write in it every day but time and laziness kicks in as you get older.

1. What led you to begin journaling? I get to talk about the events in my life without boring someone to death.
2. How often do/did you journal? I used to write every day when I was younger but stopped for a bit after highschool. Now I just keep a notebook around for when something important happens. I would like to remember the dates. maybe every other month or so now.
3. What tools or techniques help you to journal? a notebook and a pen.
4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling? It sometimes help me relax. Sometimes I really need to vent and by writing it down I get to vent about a person or a situation without gossiping or spreading rumors.

dmthompsen

I journal about once or twice a week. As Qarol said, it's therapeutic. I write out my "deepest, darkest" thoughts, feelings, etc. It helps me to get that out on paper because then I don't feel like it's stuck inside me... It helps me to let things go, if that makes sense. In my journal, I don't just write, I also draw, color, etc... Just whatever "feels right" or helpful at the moment. As far as tools that help me to journal, I often just try to listen to my feelings and my body's signals about when I need that stress release. If I notice that I am really stressed or tense, etc, then it's time to journal again! . Hope that helps. Message me with an more questions you might have... I'm happy to answer them!

Jess05071981

I have journaled on and off for years so I will try ti answer your questions.
1. What led you to begin journaling? I have some depression issues and it was suggested by my counselor.
2. How often do/did you journal? I journal several days in a row and then I will go a month without. It depends on how I am feeling.
3. What tools or techniques help you to journal?
4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling? It helps me organize my thoughts and feelings. Many times I can come up with a solution.

♥_Ellybean_♥

I am taking a class on Personal Journaling and need help with a homework assignment. (I have tried and failed to start journaling a number of times and I am hoping a class will get me on the right track)

I am supposed to find 3 people that journal, but no one I know keeps a journal - or no one will admit to it.

If you would like to help I have to get answers to the following questions:
(feel free to message me if you prefer)

1. What led you to begin journaling?
2. How often do/did you journal?
3. What tools or techniques help you to journal?
4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling?

Thank you, Thank you , Thank you!!
Mary

I used to have a blog... where i would write all the time about life etc. It has a PCOS section, infertility section and family section. But after a not so great encounter with someone I deleted my Google account not thinking and there went my blog ! ..

and I am a journelier as well.. I have many books of journals that I have kept over the years. But I I know journal at Penzu.com which just let's me write down my thoughts.

I tend to write for days at a time, and then skip days at a time.

Benefits: clears my head, gets all the junk out there, even if no one reads it.

rml_16

I keep a personal journal for a couple reasons, one of which being that I think a personal record is a good thing to leave your children and grandchildren. But also because I'm a writer in need of discipline and writing in a journal often is a good way to keep the writing blood flowing.

I would like to journal every day, but I don't. I was doing it mostly daily for a while, but now it's less than once a week, mostly because I started earnestly writing a novel and that takes up my writing time.

One thing that helps me journal regularly, as silly as this sounds, is I bought a bunch of the roller-ball pens in different colors. They flow on the page and it's fun to pick a new color every day. It feels physically good to write with them. Mental tools? Just basic discipline.

The benefit is it's a stress outlet and also keeps my brain engaged.

goron59

I've kept a journal, on and off, for about 15 years now.

1. Originally because I planned to quit my job and go travelling, so I started a few months before leaving and kept it going for several years. I wanted to record my thoughts and experiences during a time of unfamiliarity.

2. Daily at least. I kept my journal on a Psion 3 organiser (a relic by today's standards!) and it went with me most places. I would write most evenings at bed time and occasionally at other times, like on a bus journey.

3. Tools? Well physically, a Psion 3 organiser which had solid state memory cards (and a backup) and a mini word processor that could encrypt the file. I liked to keep it private so I could be honest to myself. There was no WWW back then and the internet was hard to come by, so the journal stayed with me. Techniques? Well, I'd observe mostly how I felt about things. I kept notes about where I was going, how much things cost, where I stayed, etc, but the journal would record what I thought of the people, the places, memory flashbacks, feelings, that sort of thing. It was free form text, no real structure to it.

4. The main benefit for me is that months or years later, I'd remember something, but not be completely sure if I'd remembered it right. Going back to my journal would set me straight. As a result, I'd better remember, and therefore LEARN from mistakes and be able to do better next time.

Nowadays, with the Internet everywhere and prevalence of smartphones, blogging software etc, writing a journal is pretty easy. I blog (here on MFP) and elsewhere on various topics, but they are generally for an audience, so it's less true to myself.

I've never kept a hand written diary.

pamfin

1. What led you to begin journaling?
2. How often do/did you journal?
3. What tools or techniques help you to journal?
4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling?

1. I've been keeping a journal since I was about 12.
2. I try to write something every night but that varies depending on what's going. Some times I write pages and pages and other times only a brief note. I only wrote about 5 times in 2007.
3. I like to use very specific notebooks (http://www.daler-rowney.com/en/content/daler-rowney-sketchbooks) and a fountain pen although I have recently switched to a ball point. I like a good pen with a good ink flow because when I'm very cross or distressed, my writing gets big and messy!
4. It's a great sounding board. I tend to worry a fair bit about stupid things and find that writing them down helps to put them in perspective. Also, if I'm feeling very down, just flicking back through great times helps.

bigdawg025

Journaling is a great way to release any built up negativity and figure out what's going on in your mind. Blogging works the same way. I used to do it a lot, but I haven't really recently, and I think I'm going to start back up again.

samb

I actually sort of keep a journal on my food diary notes... which is why I have to keep my food/exercise diary private. I started doing it because I wanted to track what I did during the day and how I am improving over time. Sometimes I will actually write feelings and stuff but usually just track my day in general. If I do write out feelings it is just to vent it out really, not for any real purpose other than that. I think it would be much more helpful to have like check boxes for certain things ... like I record random stuff daily and it would be nice to be able to check off what I get done/etc. Benefits are just to look back at it and see improvements, etc. Hope this helps a little I know it's not too insightful. But recording this really does help me and see trends, etc. I also like to keep positivity in my journal to look back at when I am feeling down or unmotivated etc.

_GlaDOS_

Nope, no journal. I just talk to myself a lot. My morning shower is good self-talk time.

sandy2006

I started writing for my son. Its not a journal about me so much as about him,Its been 4 yrs and I have about 3 small comp books. I dont write daily just when he does something really cool or some kind of change has happened in his life. I thought it would be cool to for him to know what I was thinking about while he was growing up. I wished my mom had done this.

kiwipez

wow - thanks for all the responses!!!

It would have been nice to have the internet when I was in college - sure would have cut down on homework time!!

sandrinamsilva

1. What led you to begin journaling?
I was in a VERY toxic relationship and felt I couldnt talk to ANYONE about it. I used a Word Doc with a password so NO ONE could read it

2. How often do/did you journal?
Everyday that he was not around & Everytime I just had to vent or when I just wanted it to be over.

3. What tools or techniques help you to journal?
I would talk to someone in my journal, this person didnt judge or talk back they just let me vent.

4. What benefits do/did you receive from journaling?
I was able to lift the weight off my chest after writing down everything and I was able to breathe again. It was my form of therapy and I used it for several years. Every now and then when I'm feeling down like like I'm going no where, I will read about everything I was going through and remind myself of how far I have come. It really did helped me to see the things I went through with this person were NOT right and it gave me hope to make a change.


Hope this helps.

kiwipez

Thank you all again for sharing your experience with Journaling!!