Your Journal, Your Rules

Finding what works best for you, on your own terms

Dear Friend

How are you feeling today? I hope you’re well. Ooh and hello if you’re a new subscriber, so lovely to be connected. I have quite a flurry of newbies yesterday which always makes me smile.

You may be aware or may not, but I’m in the process of hosting a 30 Day Journaling Challenge over on Substack Notes, so I thought you might be interested in some useful therapeutic journaling advice.

Just in case you’re new to journaling, there are many different styles and forms of journaling, particularly with therapeutic journaling, ranging from how and what you write about, to whether you use a notebook and pen or a digital device.

Here’s the thing…

There is no right way to journal.

I know this only too well.

I’ve spent years trying to master journaling.

It’s a life long practice, and I’ll be a student to the practice until the day I die. I love learning about all the ancient and the latest therapeutic journaling techniques. I learn something new each day and I love to share my findings with you. As you may well know if you’ve been reading my Substack for a few months, that I have a life long mission - to help as many people, particularly women make journaling a non-negotiable daily ritual.

If you’re up for it, I’d like to take you through the basics of how to commit to a daily journaling habit, and hopefully you’ll decide to add it to your wellbeing toolbox.

I passionately believe that any form of journaling can be beneficial for improved health and wellbeing, but therapeutic journaling is on another level and it encompasses a huge spectrum of techniques, including:

• 2 minute journaling sprints

• One word a day, one day at a time

• Sentence stems

• Structured writing sessions

• Lists of 100

• Mindmaps

• Unsent Letters

• Poetry

• Visual sketches

• Framing the day

• Free Writing

…and the list goes on! Do let me know if you’d like more information about any of the above journaling techniques. If you join my “Journal with Ease” club on a Thursday I include some of them in these guided journaling sessions. I’ll also be highlighting some of the techniques throughout my “Journal Through July” challenge over on Notes.

Lots of people ask me what’s so good about journaling daily and how can it boost health and wellbeing?

I’ll let you into a little secret. Journaling is not rocket science and it’s not expensive. Everybody hopefully has access to a piece of paper, pen or pencil. But to reap the rewards from therapeutic journaling, consistency is key.

Just like going to a yoga class to learn about the practice of yoga, learning how to practice therapeutic journaling can take a lifetime to fine tune. But the good news is that foundational journaling can be done anywhere at anytime with very little effort. It is one of the most beneficial wellbeing practices you could gift yourself. Oh and it’s never too late to start journaling! I know lots of gorgeous 80 year olds that have started journaling for the first time.

The simple act of writing down our thoughts and feelings can help us prioritise our problems and manage any intrusive thoughts throughout the day. As well as help us monitor our day to day mental health over long periods of time.

Here are just some of the health & wellbeing benefits:

• Alleviates depression and anxiety

• Reduces stress

• Improves self- esteem

• Pushes past procrastination

• Helps you find your true self

• Unlocks mindfulness

• It’s food for the soul

• Unblocks creativity

• Improves our immune system (Check out research by Dr James W Pennebaker discussed on the Huberman Lab podcast). It’s fascinating and many of my “Rage on a Page” students have had profound and life changing experiences from working through this Journaling Protocol.

So maybe you’re wondering if therapeutic journaling is for you?

My advice, don’t overthink it, just start!

Pick up a pen and give it a try. Or tap away at the keyboard. What ever suits you best. Although I’d suggest you stay away from your digital devices if at all possible. Writing with a pen or pencil onto the page engages your brain better, it actually increases activity in the brain’s motor cortex, an effect that’s similar to meditation. Plus, it forces you to slow down.

Talking from experience, it’s very important to give yourself permission to journal scrappy. Why not try journaling for just a minute about anything you feel like writing about. If you find this too challenging. Commit to writing just one word a day, one day at a time. Don’t overthink the word, but if you do feel like delving deeper about the word of choice, write for 2 minutes about what the word means to you, describing why you selected it and where does the word show up in your life. Try not to second guess yourself or edit what you write. With this basic journaling exercise, I’m encouraging you to get into the habit of making time to sit with your journal for a few minutes once a day.

In my humble opinion, it really doesn't matter what time of day you decide to journal. Just make sure you do try and journal every single day for the next 30 days. If you need help, jump over to Notes to join in with “Journal Through July” and use my daily journaling prompts.

One thing to bare-in mind, is that it’s very important to be aware of your inner critic. If you can, try and silence it. One way of doing this, is to write with your non dominant hand. I know this isn’t easy, but it’s one way of preventing your inner critic from taking over your journaling practice.

I’ll reiterate this again - there are NO RULES - journaling is meant to be a calming, safe and liberating experience. I’ve journaled for years, but consistently for over 1200 days, I can’t go a day without journaling. It’s literally my oxygen.

I journal so I can make sense of my thoughts.

Journaling isn’t for everyone, so please don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t manage to commit to a daily habit just yet. All I’d say is that if you do try and journal for the next few days, even for the month of July, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, especially when it comes to making yourself a priority and looking after your own self care.

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.