Overwhelmed & Stuck

How journaling can help you RESET

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Dear Friend

How are you feeling today?

I hope you had the opportunity to sit under the autumn sunshine yesterday, it was so glorious here in South Wales. Even though it was bit on the chilly side, it felt like a blessing to witness sunny rays weaved in-between such stormy times.

I mentioned earlier in the week that I’d lost my writing mojo, well I think I’m starting to get back into the literary groove, one word, one day at a time ha!

Yesterday I hosted my weekly “Journal with Ease” workshop, and as it was such a balm for the soul, I wanted to share the session here on Substack.  Which is quite apt, as these sessions will be included in my new book, that I’m really struggling to write at the moment.

The theme for session was “Renew, Release, Recenter”.  So if you’re anything like me, you’ll feel a tad bit frustrated when life builds up, exhausted by the relentlessness of multi-tasking, and having to “adult” sends you into a mini meltdown at times. The weight of holding onto things that no longer serves us, or having a deep craving for some kind of regrouping, the great news is that autumn is the season where we just need to hit pause, take a breath and reset.  

I’ve been there - probably more times that I care to admit - and one thing that’s always helped me navigate those moments of overwhelm, is journaling.  That’s why I want to share my recent journaling workshop with you.  And before you roll your eyes, it’s more than just putting pen to paper. It’s about  giving yourself the time and space to reflect, release and ultimately recenter.  

In this half hour session, we’ll be diving into themes like finding renewal in stagnant parts of our lives, managing that sense of overwhelm we all feel, and letting go of the things that are holding us back.  And trust me, the act of getting it all out on the page, is seriously therapeutic.  

I want to share this with you because I know firsthand how life changing this practice can be.  My own journaling journey has seen me through some of the toughest chapters in my life - divorce, losing my home, bankruptcy, losing a business, starting over (again and again). Journaling has been a powerful tool for me to reflect, process and reclaim my energy.  My hope is that, through sharing this workshop, you’ll find the same relief, clarity and sense of renewal that journaling has offered me.

Before I start this guided journaling session, I ask you to “pause for thought”, close your eyes for a minute, make sure you’re sitting comfortably.  

Check in with your breathing.

 Take in any fragrances, good or bad, tune into any familiar sounds where you are sat right now and use these techniques to centre yourself.  

Leave your “To-D”o list at the door.

The next 20-30minutes are purely all yours and everything else can wait.  

When you’ve had your eyes closed for a minute, when you’re ready open your eyes, give your shoulders a roll, stretch all your fingers and let’s dive into the practice of journaling.

(Note To Self - I should record this session in audio format. Would you be interested in this if I recorded some of my Journal with Ease sessions on here?

Everyone at some point in their life experiences moments of feeling stuck or burdened by things they have outgrown, does this sound familiar to you? If yes, I’d like you to use what I call a journaling “micro-movement”, it’s a great technique to get get your journaling muscle flexed.  

Write these 3 words down… Renew, Release, Recenter.  

Then choose one of those three words.  

For the next two minutes I’d like you to write non-stop about the word you have selected.  

Describe in detail why you selected this word? How does this word make you feel? Where does this word show up in your life? Does this word trigger you, and if so why?

Try not to judge what you’re writing, and do not stop writing, even if all your write is “I don’t know what to write about” over and over.  The point here is to get you into a journaling state of flow.

Now I’d like you to complete these two sentence stems:

"Today I would like to release…"

"Today I want to make space for…"

Give yourself a minute for each sentence stem, and again try to keep the writing flowing, let the pen do the work.

Renewal is about reinvention, growth and stepping into the now.  So please, take a minute to ask yourself what areas of your life feel stagnant right now, then describe how you can invite a sense of renewal into them.  Take at least 2-3 minutes with this prompt.

If you are enjoying this session, and have the time to journal for a little longer, here is another prompt “If you could start a fresh in one aspect of your life, what would it be?”

On the subject of OVERWHELM, sometimes we find that when we are juggling too many things or holding onto things that aren’t serving us, it can all get a bit too much. Sometimes we’d rather opt for burying our heads in the sand or be at the mercy of procrastination. Yes, I’ve been there on far too many occasions.

Prompt: take a couple of minutes to journal about the three main sources of overwhelm in your life right now.  How does overwhelm show up in your body and mind? And what small action can you take today/this week to ease your sense of overwhelm.

If time is of the essence and you have somewhere to be or an email to attend to, try these using sentence stems, I always encourage my students to write a list of 10 stems in the back of their journal, mainly as a “go to” when feeling blocked or lacking time to journal.

- Today I am feeling…

- Right now I need…

- My intention for this week is to…

- The one thing I didn’t say out loud yesterday was…

Please take it from me that after years of wrestling with a journaling ritual, there is no right or wrong way to journal, there should be no limit to how many words or minutes you’d like to journal.  If all that you do for the next seven days is to write one word, one day at a time with a full minute to pause for thought, I guarantee you’ll feel lighter and eager to keep journaling more consistently.

If you have any queries around how to journal on the go, what to journal about and which journaling tools I recommend, please leave me a comment or send me a DM.

Until the next time.

Take care and stay safe xx

About me… I’m Tanya Lynch, a mother, a ridgeback owner and the founder of Ease Retreats.  I love what I do, collaborating with authors and creatives, hosting retreats in beautiful venues across the UK.  I’m also a therapeutic journaling coach and through my program Rage on a Page, I help midlife women channel their emotions into something more positive and creative in less than 60 days. Each Thursday I host an online journaling club called Journal with Ease and it’s free for paid subscribers to attend. If you have any questions about the benefits of therapeutic journaling, please reach out and connect. I’m usually on a beach walking the dogs, hosting retreats or hanging out here on Substack.