Journaling has become an increasingly popular activity with women in the past few years, and it offers mental health and wellbeing benefits. Award-winning author Marian L. Thomas shares insights into the practice of journaling and how journaling can improve your outlook on life.
What is Journaling?
Journaling is the practice of keeping a journal that allows you to write down your innermost thoughts or feelings about life. There are multiple ways individuals choose to journal, and it’s all about finding a system that works best for you. Journaling is ideally a practice undertaken regularly. A one-off journaling session can help relieve stress and offload thoughts that have been running through your mind. When you journal regularly, you notice patterns and the things that inspire you, disappoint you, or just tick you off in life.
In Someone Like Me, Marian’s new women’s fiction book, we see the main character use journaling as a tool to explore her past and relieve stress. Reducing stress is one of the most common reasons someone will start journaling since it can be a great way to let out their thoughts about unpleasant events. It can be a great alternative to therapy for anyone who feels they can’t share their feelings vocally. Journaling after a traumatic life event can help you process the emotions that you are feeling, allowing you to gain more clarity on the situation.
Common Misconceptions about Journaling
One common misconception about journaling is that you need to be a great writer to get started with the practice. It’s important to know you aren’t writing the next best-selling women’s fiction novel, and so you shouldn’t be overly concerned about the quality of your writing or even how it looks on the page. With so many of us relying on technology today, you may find it hard to get used to writing on paper again. While some people keep electronic journals, you’ll likely find you don’t receive the same mental health benefits as traditional journaling. Most of us need to take some time away from technology to enjoy this practice fully, which is why Marian always recommends using a hardcover journal.
Marian’s best advice on journaling: “If you have perfectionist tendencies, set these tendencies aside and try to remember that you’re not sharing your journal with anyone, so your goal should be to focus on getting your emotions and thoughts on the page as opposed to making sure every word is perfect.” For best results, Marian also recommends that you incorporate what she calls “gratitude journaling sessions” into your weekly routine. Why? “Some people tend to focus on just negative feelings, which can affect their stress levels. Journaling should be about relieving stress, not adding to it. So, I would tell anyone to end each journaling session with a line or two about what they are grateful for, be it a moment, a smile someone shared with them, or just the fact that they are alive and able to move and exist in life.”
Journaling is a tool that women from all backgrounds and ages can benefit from, and it’s something that you’ll quickly notice the advantages of when you keep the practice of journaling consistent.
For more journaling inspiration, make sure you pick up a copy of Someone Like Me by Marian L. Thomas on Amazon.
