Hey MoonWings,
I've been journalling on and off for a few years now so here's my two cents.
Pro's
- It feels like therapy. It can be a great way to talk or write about things that you don't feel comfortable talking about with other people. I've discovered lots of things about myself, gotten a new perspective on things and generally learned a bit about myself just by writing it out. It can also be a great way to process and work through whatever you've just talked about in therapy. Sorting things out on paper makes it so much easier than sorting things out in my head.
- It costs nothing. You don't really lose anything by giving it a go. If it doesn't work for you, it's not that big of a deal.
- It can be a bit of a release. I've heard of 'morning pages' which is where people write non-stop for a while and it can be a great way to kind of get rid of the cobwebs in our brain. It's funny how much we really think and worry about stuff even when we don't necessarily realise it at the time.
- You control it. If you don't want to talk about heavy stuff, fine. If you want to talk about sunshine and rainbows, fine. There's no rules and no right or wrong. You can literally write whatever you want to write and theres no judgement.
- You don't have to write all the time. People can think that journalling is an everyday kind of practice. Not true. You can write as often or as little as you please.
Con's
- You've got to put it in a secret spot or know that the people around you won't want to have a stickybeak. Having your privacy violated hurts so much.
- It can feel like therapy. This is both good and bad. It can be hard to bring up and process stuff sometimes and that can be emotionally and physically tiring.
- It can be incredibly hard to know where and how to start, so much so that I think it puts people off because they don't know what to say.
