party girls don't get hurt
Hi!
Today I am going to get vulnerable and share with you my Journaling Origin Story.
Back in 2017, on balmy Sunday in August, I had this text exchange with my best friend Abby.
If you skim the first part of the text exchange, you will see that Abby reassuringly says “yeah you didn’t seem too drunk at all” (which by the way, is a complete and total lie, but thank you Abby for sparing my feelings) in response to me feeling guilty from overindulging at bottomless brunch the day before. The day (and night) consisted of many mimosas and God help me, Four Loko. I straight up acted like a fool and the hangxiety was REAL the next day.
After a nap and a couple of Advils, I decided to whip out the ole journal in an effort to feel in more control in my life. And the crazy thing is, it actually helped. I was able to confront and process my feelings of guilt and shame, and vow to take a healthier course of action with drinking and going out.
Although it took until 2019 to start journaling daily (yes, it took me a couple years to get my shit together, what can I say I’m human), I’m glad I was able to use it as a tool to vent about my degenerate behavior at that moment and for the few weeks following.
What started as a moment of feeling like a dummy ended up changing my life forever. I used to think journaling was kind of pointless. I would just write what was going on in my day to day, but never really got into anything juicy. I also was journaling once every few months. Like with most things, you get the most out of writing when you make it a habit. It’s like going to the gym, you won’t see that much of a difference in your fitness level if you only hit the weights section once every six months. It’s the same idea with working on your mental health, you have to actively work on it.
Consistent journaling works because you are able to recognize patterns in your thinking. When writing about an issue you keep facing, it becomes a call to action. You can’t keep writing about the same problem forever. Well I mean you could, but you’re probably going to get really sick of writing about it AND oh I don’t know, living with the issue. In short, when journaling becomes a daily habit, we develop the ongoing awareness to change things in our lives instead of running away.
Have you been wanting to get into the habit of journaling but struggle to stay consistent? First of all I see you and I feel you. I’ve been there! (RE the two years it took me to finally journal daily), but let me tell you it is absolutely worth working on. I have a whole program dedicated to getting people in the habit of daily journaling and know firsthand and through my students how much journaling has helped them. My mental health has improved immensely since daily journaling and I’m proud to say, I don’t get that shwasty anymore like I did in 2017. Although I still definitely have a lot of learning and growing to do, I can honestly say I’ve never been healthier or happier. So no, younger Emily, journaling is not pointless, it’s actually the one thing that will help you the most.
Let me know if you have any journaling questions and I’ll be happy to respond.
Xo
Emily