Do you feel better after journaling?

I love journaling. I have used it as a way of processing my emotions and the events and people around me for a long time. I started journaling when I was about 10, I’m 22 now. It’s been a big part of my life and growth as a person. I can look back at where I’ve been and who I’ve been. I can also better envision my future when I write out my goals and who/what I want to be. I’ve often written letters to people to better forgive and move on from past hurts, even if they never change. I don’t need to rely on that from them. I am always only in control of myself, no one else.

Normally, yes. My journal allows me to process thoughts as well as vent about things that I might not want to discuss with another human.

Jornaling has made me discover some things about myself and beliefs I had which need challenging , for instance I was feeling bad for a mistake I made but writing it down and reflecting on it I saw that it wasn’t a big deal and I could let it go. Make sure when you do journal try to go deeper than what just happened, be as reflective as you can 🙂

Yes I do feel better when I journal. There are so many things and thoughts that occur during the day and I may not get a chance to reflect or get it out, so journaling helps me do that. It always helps with my anxiety.

Yes, writing in a book that only i am going to use makes this practice reflective and secure.
I can bring out everything withour filtering, its like seeing what's happening inside and when i feel that, i feel connected to myself.

It’s not necessarily that I feel better, I just feel clearer. I write a stream of consciousness and it seems to make me feel more focussed. I may not be looking forward to the day ahead, but my head is more attuned to deal with what whatever happens without any extraneous negative thoughts. Sometimes it does make me feel better. I find a little creative spark from writing and it excites me. That’s not an everyday occurrence though.