The goal of journaling is to write to yourself; to let your conscious self know and understand what you have been trying to avoid in life on an unconscious level.

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There are more types of journaling out there, these are just he ones I use and have found great success in–they invite flow instead of rigidity.

In this episode, you learn:

1. Seven types of journaling to help you get get unstuck
2. Why journaling is essential to your health and flowing with life
3. How to know what type of journaling to use and when

Journaling for Mental and Emotional Health

Putting pen to paper and processing your thoughts through hand-written journaling allows you to release things from the past and gain clarity around things to come. When you process emotions through journaling, it can even bring you back to the mental-emotional state you experienced at the time of the event you are journaling about. You access deeper places in your brain, which can be made more accessible in some instances by utilizing the writing with the non-dominant hand technique explained in further detail in the episode.

Benefits of Journaling

• • Resolve past experiences
  • Identify and place emotions with past or present-moment experiences
  • Helps understand why felt a certain way
  • Sort out events–confront and understand experiences – organize and process thoughts around them, without the judgement of others
  • Creates a more positive outlook

 Journaling for Physical Health

When targeting stressful or traumatic life experiences, journaling strengthens the immune system because it’s processing the stress in life, which is carried in tissues of the body.

Dr. James Pennebaker found that physiological changes happen in the body immediately following journaling and over the long term when you can actually recognize, allow and feel emotions brought on by journaling about specific past experiences.  It has a positive impact on all the following:

• • • Blood pressure
    • Heart rate
    • Muscle tension
    • Body temperature
    • Breathing rate

 The Seven Types of Journaling

1. Stream of Consciousness Journaling
2. Journaling with God
3. Prayer Journaling
4. Journal Prompts
5. Affirmation Journaling
6. Gratitude/Blessings Journaling
7. Reflection Journaling

Following a journaling session, you might feel lighter, more free, or you might have a dip in mood for a short time after depending on what you were journaling about. It usually helps relieve some strain or stuck feelings or energy that have been living inside you so that you can see the bigger picture.

If journaling about something you want to let go of, it might be helpful to burn, throw out or shred whatever it is you wrote out, giving it more of a sense of finality and release from yourself.

Take-aways

1. It doesn’t matter what you write about, no one else is going to be reading it or judging it.
2. Start with something simple like keeping a blessing journal, writing out affirmations or using 1 or 2 journal prompts to get your mind going.
3. Watch flow begin to return to your life as you naturally invite a positive outlook to happen from giving your brain a chance to process whatever may be causing stress to your mind.

Resources:

Getting Unstuck Through Journaling Thought Joggers

How We Feel App (Android)

How We Feel App (iPhone)

Other Resources:

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