Panache

When you start journaling, your journal is like a stranger to you. You don’t know what to say to that. You don’t know how to handle your new relationship with it. And you don’t know what to write on an empty page. Either it is an overwhelming of emotions or your mind is an empty canvas like the page in front of you.

You are not alone in feeling this way about journaling. There are many like you who struggle to open up emotionally in their journal. It also happens with people who have been journaling for a while now.

But you don’t need to worry about this anymore. Below are some effective ways to open up your journal. You don’t have to stare at the blank page anymore.

Write a letter.

Consider your journal as a friend and start by writing letters to your journal. You can start with the age-old “Dear Diary…”, or name your journal as your favorite nickname and call it that. That way, you will not only be giving life to your journal by writing into it, but you will also be personifying it.

One of my friends remembered his childhood friend who passed away through his journal. He writes letters to his old friend and tells him everything. You can write letters to your friends, your pets, or anyone you want to.

You can also write letters to your future self or your past self to heal through time. You can mention a courageous note for your future self and a healing, loving note to your past self while you are at it.

In this way, you will be able to open up your journal like never before. You will consider it a human, and soon after, the pressure of “Writing your history in your journal” will vanish. Instead, you will be writing regular letters as you do to a long-lost friend.

Also read: How to journal honestly?

Also read: This one journaling exercise can give you closure.

Sub-conscious Writing.

When someone starts writing in their journal, they feel a lot of pressure of beautiful handwriting, correct spelling and grammar, tenses, and many other things. However, if all of this is coming in your way of expressing yourself honestly in your journal. Then, you should try sub-conscious writing.

Sub-conscious writing in your journal is the process of writing when you just put a pen to the paper and start writing however your pen moves. It can take any shape or form. It can form a word, a sentence, or a paragraph. You are not thinking much about what you are going to write. You just start writing and let your subconscious do the rest of the work.

Though this process requires a bit of detachment and practice, it is one of the most effective ways to see what is actually in your heart and mind that you want to see on the paper. It is like living through a dream when your sub-conscience is your steering wheel and you are not aware of where you going.

Everything will start unfolding before you even realize it. You may read what you wrote or leave it for a day or two. You can do it by listening to a sound (ASMR) or songs. The magic will happen while your mind is distracted.

Describe your day.

When people start journaling, they start by introducing themselves to the new journal. They spend the first few pages of their journal describing what kind of person they are, how they see their lives, or what they are planning for in their future. However, that is not the only way to introduce yourself to your friend.

You can simply start by describing your day. Your journal does not need to know everything from day one. You must maintain the mystery. You can begin by how mundane your day was. Or if the work was as usual as it always is. What about that lady that you saw on the way back from work?

Since your journal is your best buddy, you can tell it anything, and it won’t judge. You can tell the most mundane things of your day and be grateful for another day.

Soon after, you will realize that you have started noticing things in your mundane life to tell your journal. And then, your life will not seem as boring as it once was.

Feeling in the moment… (I feel…)

If you don’t want to talk about your day or life in your journal. A good thing to write in your journal is what you feel. How are you feeling right now? This will bring your mind to the current moment. Therefore, it makes you more mindful than before.

You can start by saying, “At this moment, I am feeling…..” and then start describing your feelings as empty, numb, low on energy, happy, overwhelmed, satisfied, delighted, etc. Once you give word to your current state. You can further describe those feelings as to why you are feeling this way, what led to these feelings, and What you were feeling before this. And what are you feeling after admitting those feelings in your journal?

This practice makes you more mindful and more self-aware. You will know your feelings and the roots of them. This will not only be able to understand your thoughts and how they are linked to those feelings. But you will also have better control over your anxiety and overthinking.

Release your emotions.

Have you ever been so angry that you want to scream into a pillow or punch someone in the face to release those emotions? I am sure the answer will be yes. If you ever feel this way again, try writing it in your journal.

If you are too angry, writing it with pen and paper would be a mechanical task. You can always opt for a digital journal, and you can type faster. Don’t worry about the choice of words, language, punctuation, grammar, or spelling. All you need to do is to release your emotions through your fingers.

This one could be for people who do not want to journal regularly and want to keep it for sporadic events. You can also keep a journal specifically for this task.

Though I have a paperback journal, I also keep a digital file. So, every time I am too overwhelmed, anxious, angry, or just want to let my frustration get out of my body, I always click on that file. Typing out my emotions has always helped me make better decisions and see things through different lenses.

Reminiscing.

Are there some shameful memories that surface in your mind now and again? Maybe it is time to get rid of them for the better. You can always write them in your journal and let go of them whenever you want to.

This will not only get them out of your system but it would also save you from those 3 am moments when you lie in bed staying wide awake thinking of those moments.

Similarly, if you are feeling nostalgic about your childhood, you can always make a different journal where you will write about all your childhood memories. This will not only help you record your memories the way you remember them. But it will also be the best way to look back on those moments when you are old.

A memory journal can have a lot of pictures and a little something about everything that you want to freeze in time. It can take the shape of an album or your memories when you remember something out of the blue.

List of things you want to say to yourself.

Is there something you want to tell your old self, your younger self, or your current self? It could be an encouraging message. A quote or a saying that you want to remember that is exclusively applied to your life and its current situation.

You may want to tell something to your inner child, and you can write them in your journal. Make a list of things that you hope for in your life. Make another list of things you want to achieve in the coming year or the next five years.

You can make a list of things that you are proud of in your life. If you can’t think of anything. You can start by making a list of things that are around you at the moment while you are writing in your journal. Further, talk about the history of those things and how those things came to be.

You can describe the clothing items you are wearing and how or when you bought them.

Also read: How to re-parent yourself to heal your inner child?

Use prompts.

You can always use positive prompts to open up your journal. Journaling prompts are a great way to dig deep and understand yourself more. Using prompts can establish a relationship with yourself by understanding yourself better and becoming self-aware.

You can use prompts like “What am I struggling with lately? What has been on my mind? What am I spending most of my time at? What emotions do I have at the moment? What are the things that I want to avoid? What do I want to hear right now?

Once you answer the above prompts, you can use the “why” method to keep writing and answering. For example, once you answer the prompt about your feelings in the moment, you can add more, such as why you are feeling this way. What has led to these feelings?

Also read: What to journal when you have nothing going on?

Conclusion

It is extremely important to create a safe space for expressing yourself in your journal. Only then will you be able to trust and open up to it freely and completely? In a way, it is your responsibility to keep it that way.

The best part is that there are no set rules for journaling, and you can do it in the best way you deem it to be. Once you start opening yourself up in your journal, it will be a smooth ride. The only difficult part is to start.

Also read: Daily checklist for your wellness journal.

Also read: How to approach journaling as a newbie?