{"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":"2022-07-18T11:52:46","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T15:52:46","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":"<p><em>by Kimberly Young, Communications and Community Engagement Specialist, Caroline County Public Schools<\/em><\/p>\n<p>How do you feel about journaling?\u00a0 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!\u00a0 However, I found that if I read something I had written years ago, it often made me cringe.\u00a0 It was like going back to middle school.\u00a0 No one wants to relive those years!\u00a0 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>\n<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.\u00a0 She said the point of writing is to get what is on your mind out of your head.\u00a0 The act of writing is extremely therapeutic for sorting things out and there is no need to reread.\u00a0 This changed everything for me.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It was cathartic!\u00a0 Since then, I have modified and enhanced my approach as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>JOURNAL- Use a plain, inexpensive notebook. Once it is full, you have the option to throw it away (or recycle it).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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 Schools How do you feel about journaling?\u00a0 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!\u00a0 However, I found that if I read something I had written [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":44661,"comment_status":"open","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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