🤍Journaling For Self-Care With @everyday_connection🤍
Have you ever tried journaling? Maybe the last time you wrote in a diary was when you had a fight with your year 5 BFF? If that’s the case, it’s time to dust off the pages and grab a pen! Journaling is a great way to express your thoughts, feelings and reflections. Not sure where to start? We’ve got you! The beautiful Alicia from Everyday Connection has given us the rundown on why and how you can start journaling. Here’s her guide!
Journaling can be super intimidating, especially if it’s not something you’ve always done. I was lucky enough that I found journaling at such a young age and that it has been something that I always come back to when I’m struggling with life & all of its chaos.
Over time, I have learnt the importance of not just journaling when I am sad, but to journal every single emotion. This helps me keep the practice strong and create the much needed time and space to connect with myself.
By taking 5 or 10 minutes a day or week to sit down and connect with how you feel, you can learn to identify why you feel that way. When you write it all out, you are releasing all the heaviness that it is holding in your heart, so that it is no longer weighing you down.
Journaling is not only amazing for letting go of negative emotions, but it can help you learn to embrace positivity and manifest the life of your dreams. When we can see it, we can create it.
For me personally, journaling has helped me get through the darkest days when I have battled anxiety and depression. It has helped me to see all the beautiful things in this life worth fighting for; all the amazing things that I have to be grateful for, and it has helped me show up better for the people around me by simply showing up for myself.
My Journaling tips for you are…
~ Let go of all the expectations you have of what journaling ‘should’ be and make it your own.
~ Write in a notebook, paint, sketch, make collages, write poems, songs, letters, practice gratitude or write until your hand hurts. How you choose to express your feelings is up to you.
~ The most important thing to remember with journaling is that there is no right or wrong, it is just whatever feels most comfortable for you.
~ Just start. Starting is always the hardest part, but once you start, the hardest part is over!
~ Do not get caught up in your journal being neat or pretty. Forget about spelling or grammar and let everything flow from your heart.
~ Start small. It doesn’t matter if you write 2 lines about how you feel or 3 pages. What matters is that in some way you are letting it out and connecting with yourself.
~ Find or create that safe space for yourself. Whether it be by the ocean, in the park, in your bed or on the couch. Wherever you feel safe, that is your journaling space. Remember that this space can change from day to day, you are not limited by where or how you journal.
~ Use journal prompts to help you. Even if you can write freely, prompts are a great tool to help you reflect upon different things about your day, life and envision your future.
~ Make time for it. You only need 5 or 10 minutes a day or week to sit down and check in with yourself.
~ Read through what you have written, you will surprise yourself with what comes out sometimes. By reading it, you help yourself process your thoughts and emotions.
Journal Prompts ~
I am grateful for....
Right now, I feel… (Write the emotions that you are feeling right now and try to identify why you feel that way. Did something happen?)
How can I show myself love?
Which parts of my life am I really happy with?
Two things that made me smile today
