Self care is the key to looking after yourself because nothing is more important than you! Journal can help you put pen to paper and allow the emotions to flow.
It is important to look after yourself and even more so now. Although we may find ourselves with more time on our hands (due to lockdowns), we are still dealing with a lot. Before we know it, we might all be rushing around again. Now is the time to start forming healthy self care habits. This blog is going to focus on how to use your journal for self care but first let’s look at some other simple forms of self care.
Reading a book
Listening to your favourite music
Going for a walk
Having a bath
Enjoying a cup of tea
Putting on a face mask and hair mask
Self care does not need to be expensive or elaborate. Simply doing things that make you happy, help you to relax and allow you to slow down can have a huge benefit to your overall wellbeing. I would recommend creating a self care plan in your planner. Look at when you are likely to be free and block out some time just for you.
Being able to get everything from your head to paper is hugely beneficial. Sometimes we forget just how much we carry around in our heads. Here is one way to turn your journal into a self care tool –
Grab your journal and favourite pen. Set a timer for about five minutes (or for however long is comfortable for you). Write down anything that comes into your mind, anything you are thinking and feeling. This is called ‘stream consciousness’ and allows your thoughts to just ‘be’. Keep writing until the timer sounds.
It can be very tiring writing a lot down and re-living thoughts and emotions. So now take a break, put your pen down and take a few deep breaths. Think about what you have just done before moving onto the next step.
To be able to dig deeper you need to process the thoughts you have just written down. Underline any points that stand out to you. Dive deeper into what they mean or how you feel towards the words. Write some questions next to the words to look back at later. Now that you have the questions it is time to answer them.
Turn a page in your journal and write the questions you have from your previous page. Write a question down and answer it. Then move down your list doing the same thing. This helps you to process your emotions and deal with them instead of letting it all live inside your head.
Carry on this process for as long as you like. If you feel as if you still have questions that need a better answer keep going until you are done. Repeat this journal exercise whenever you want to practise some self care.
People who practise gratitude exercises are said to be more grounded and happy. Some people write their gratitudes every night before they go to bed. Other’s might do it once a week, make sure to do whatever suits you. Grab your journal and a pen and write down five things you are grateful for. An exercise like this can help you be thankful for the small things and appreciate the little things that make up your day. Adding this to your self care plan can be very beneficial. Do you practise your gratitudes?
Create a self care tracker.
In your journal create a self care tracker to make sure you keep up the habit. Create a table that has four weeks vertically and 7 day’s horizontally. Write down what self care habits you would like to start. Let’s say it is exercise. Every-time you exercise you can tick a week and a day. This shows you when you exercise the most and when your exercise slips.
I hope these hints help you to incorporate your journal into your self care rituals. Writing down your thoughts and feelings can really help you to deal with difficult emotions and ultimately live a calmer, happier life.
Do you use your journal for self care? Let us know in the comments below.
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