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Keeping a journal can be a great form of therapy. Journaling allows people to let out all of their emotions. This is healthy; research and counselors agree that keeping emotions and feelings inside of people only causes more self-destruction in the long run. Some people may think that keeping their feelings inside of them is "proper" and "polite." They are proven wrong once they have let everything build up inside of them, only to have it exploding out of them at a later date.
Therefore, keeping a journal is a very easy way to help yourself through problems and ordeals; it is a form of self-help, or self-therapy.
Keeping a journal for therapy is not the same thing as keeping a journal in which you write down every day things that happened such as "Went to the movies today with Sarah." Journaling for therapy is much more in depth than that, and wrenches at your very heart and soul.
Here is an example of how one could go about getting the maximum benfits of journaling for therapy:
1. Find a quiet, possibly secret place. Maybe it will be a place that you will always do your journaling. Just make sure that no other people are going to come in and disturb you.
2. Possibly play some music, if you think that won't distract you too much. Classical music, or nature/only instruments music is probably best.
3. Just sit and relax for a few minutes before you go about writing.
4. Now really place your heart on your sleeve (or the paper). Cleanse yourself of all worries, problems, fears, etc. that you are going through. The way to do this is simply to write down every single worry, fear, or problem that enters your head. Don't be afraid to write ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that pops into your head. This is only for your eyes- no need to be embarrassed. Also, you need to be honest with yourself. Being honest with yourself will also help your self-esteem and show you your true self.
5. Examine every feeling, worry or fear and everything else that comes into your head. Why are you feeling this way? See if you can come up with a reason why you are feeling this way, and jot that down as well. Try to examine every fear and worry from every possibly angle. (Why am I feeling like this? When did these feelings start? What are my future plans for dealing with this problem?). Don't stop until you have beat the problem to death with all of your questions. You may find that you get bored with the problem- or that you don't remember why it was such a problem in the first place (of course, that depends on the problem).
6. Don't let time set limits on you. Preferably, you should write in your journal when you have a lot of free time, maybe on a Saturday morning or afternoon-- not on a night when you know that you have to go to softball practice in a half hour- don't pick a time when you will feel rushed. You will not reap all the benefits of writing in your journal if you do it when you feel rushed.
7. Don't let any thoughts, fears, worries, problems or anything else like that remain in your head. Remember to write everything, no matter how awkward, in your journal. Just don't forget to leave it in a secret hiding place after you are done writing where snoops won't find it!
The benefits are wonderful if you really do go by these guidelines and do this every day (or every time that you are going through a rough spot). Getting all of your emotions and fears onto paper does just that- it gets all of those thoughts out of your head and onto the paper- those feelings have left you and are now on paper for the paper to worry about and not you.
An added extra about journaling is that you can always go back and read over your journal entries. This can help you learn how you deal with problems, and possibly how to deal with future problems. It also can help you learn a great deal about yourself.
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