Journaling Styles
Mindfulness through shadow work journaling is not the only type of meditative practice that exists. It’s the one that I prefer and share with clients the most, but tonight let’s talk about other meditative practices such as different types of journaling for emotional health. I will give an overview of a variety of journal practices and if desired some additional resources for you to dive in deeper if you extra support. As usual if you don't have a journal you can get one here all proceed go to my outreach The Light of Day Inc. a nonprofit that assist in disaster reef aid, families in crisis, displaced housewives and their children.
I like to talk about journaling a lot because it's a simple tool for healing.
So many of you email me complaining about not having time to do inner work or not being able to stay on track. Here's why.... you practice self-care practice, but are still a stressed-out mess...
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CONSISTENCY
Yep, that’s the answer. It should be obvious, but sometimes we miss the obvious: if you are not actually engaging with your self-care practice, then it’s not going to work.
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You have spent all your time doing the various self-exploration and journaling exercises to help you identify your stressors, create a self-care intention, and create a structured routine, but YOU’RE NOT DOING IT or YOU’RE NOT DOING IT ENOUGH.
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The main two reasons I often hear why someone does not, cannot, or will not engage in their self-care routine are:
1. Kids
2. Other "people" Responsibilities (Not Properly Managing Your Time AKA Putting Yourself On Your Calendar)
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The truth is that if you don’t make the time, then you won’t have the time. This is why we stress about doing self-exploration questions and making your needs a top priority. The great thing about journaling is that there isn’t a wrong way to do it. Whichever style you choose to get your thoughts out of your head is up to you. But if you’ve been hesitant to get started because you just don’t know where or how to begin, here are a few methods you may want to experiment with:
Freestyling
This kind of narrative writing is open-ended, which means there’s no real structure involved. Freestyling is simply writing about anything that’s on your mind without having to worry grammar or spelling. You can jump from topic to topic, use run on sentences, make spelling errors, ignore proper grammar, and write illegibly. There are no rules.
List-Making
If you struggle to come up with something to write about, list-making is a great way to get started with journaling. Here are a few list ideas:
Things to do
Things you’re grateful for
Things you’re good at
Things other people compliment you on
Places on your bucket list
Things to get rid of (or the reverse: things you want to keep)
Things you love
Activities you enjoy doing
Places you feel your best
People you feel your best around
Things you would do if you had unlimited resources
Writing Prompts
Prompts give direction and focus to your writing. Generally, they come in the form of questions or fill-in-the-blank exercises that help you explore the various dimensions of your life. Here are a few examples of prompts:
What do you want to learn?
What do you really want?
What do you want to come of this situation?
Who do you most admire and why?
What was your biggest win this week?
What scares you?
Art Journaling
There are many forms of emotional expression, and journals don’t have to be filled in with just words. Consider other mediums, like sketching, drawing, painting, or doodling. Bullet journals are a great way to get started with this. You could also make a scrapbook of photos or mementos and use them as writing inspiration.
Help Developing A Plan For Self Care
Do you want help developing a self care plan that works for your own busy schedule? Do you want accountability implementing a self care plan? If you or someone you love is struggling to maintain optimal mental and emotional health, consider reaching out to Spiced Life Conversation Art Wellness Studio and Botanica. We are a Metro Atlanta, Conyers Georgia area. We are a coaching and counseling practice with empathetic, skilled counselors and recovery coaches who can help you set goals, develop a self care routine and move forward to build a more fulfilling life. Our team would be happy to work with you either just for a couple of sessions to develop and implement a Self Care plan or longer term to work toward overall better mental health within our membership site or other programs.
About The Author:
Dr. Nikki LeToya White MSEd-TL, Ph.D. RHN is the founder, director and a full time board certified trauma-informed nutritionist, folk herbalist, and wellness consultant at Spiced Life Conversation Art Wellness Studio and Botanica. She created Spiced Life Conversation, LLC
Art Wellness Studio and Botanica to provide the Metro Atlanta area with a counseling and coaching services where clients are carefully matched with the right program for healing abandonment and childhood emotional neglect trauma that cause codependency, emotional eating, financial stress, and imposter syndrome as it relates to fear of success and being abandon. We help you begin your emotional healing journey with ease. Recently, we have expanded to include online membership site so we now provide support to people living all over the world. All of our recovery coaches provide at least one evidence based treatment to assist in your recovery. Dr. White is a big proponent of self care and helping people live a fulfilling life! She has been in full remission with both codependency and emotional binge eating disorder since 2016. In live a life in recovery from sugar addiction. Loving her low sugar balance lifestyle.
Best Regards
Dr. Nikki LeToya White