{"id":44662,"date":"2022-07-18T11:14:10","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T15:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/?p=44662"},"modified":"2026-05-12T09:47:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:47:44","slug":"write-it-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2022\/07\/18\/write-it-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Write It Out"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><p><em>by Kimberly Young, Communications and Community Engagement Specialist, Caroline County Public Schools<\/em><\/p><p>How do you feel about journaling?&nbsp; I have attempted it numerous times over the years because people talk about how great it is and I am a sucker for a beautiful journal!&nbsp; However, I found that if I read something I had written years ago, it often made me cringe.&nbsp; It was like going back to middle school.&nbsp; No one wants to relive those years!&nbsp; On several occasions, I have torn pages out or thrown the entire journal away.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"longdesc-return-44661\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-44661\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2022\/07\/notepad-g7bc2d1c33_1280-300x196.jpg\" alt=\"notepad, pen and coffee\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw?longdesc=44661&amp;referrer=44662\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2022\/07\/notepad-g7bc2d1c33_1280-300x196.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2022\/07\/notepad-g7bc2d1c33_1280-1024x670.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2022\/07\/notepad-g7bc2d1c33_1280-768x502.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2022\/07\/notepad-g7bc2d1c33_1280-1140x745.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2022\/07\/notepad-g7bc2d1c33_1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><\/p><p>Several years ago, I mentioned this to a friend who is also a therapist and she told me I should not read my old journals.&nbsp; She said the point of writing is to get what is on your mind out of your head.&nbsp; The act of writing is extremely therapeutic for sorting things out and there is no need to reread.&nbsp; This changed everything for me.&nbsp; I found that if I was having a stressful moment or day, I would grab scrap paper, write it out, and then promptly shred the paper.&nbsp; It was cathartic!&nbsp; Since then, I have modified and enhanced my approach as follows:<\/p><ul>\n<li>JOURNAL- Use a plain, inexpensive notebook. Once it is full, you have the option to throw it away (or recycle it).&nbsp; Save the pretty journals for writing about travels, adventures, or quotes you want to remember.<\/li>\n<li>CHAT- Treat it like you are chatting with a close, trusted friend. Write about good things happening, lessons you have learned, or something with which you are struggling.<\/li>\n<li>WRITE- Typing does not create the same therapeutic effect. It does not have to be legible!<\/li>\n<li>VISUALIZE- it as a form of self-care like working out. If you stick with it, you will start to feel the results.<\/li>\n<li>GRATITUDE-Always include things for which you are grateful!<\/li>\n<li>HABIT- Make it a habit. Even if you feel you have nothing to write about, just write.&nbsp; I will sometimes start with a quote I like and let my thoughts about it flow onto the paper.<\/li>\n<li>NO GUILT! It is okay if do not write every day or on a regular basis.&nbsp; However, I have found that I look forward to it now because it makes me feel better.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Kimberly Young, Communications and Community Engagement Specialist, Caroline County Public SchoolsHow do you feel about journaling?&nbsp; I have attempted it numerous times over the years because people talk about how great it is and I am a sucker for a beautiful journal!&nbsp; However, I found that if I read something I had written years [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":44661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-blog","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - 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