We live in a world that is always on the go — 24/7. The media is broadcasting around the clock, and with the internet, there is always someone awake. It feels like nobody takes the time to sleep and shut down anymore. It’s like we live in perpetual daytime.
When you are a trauma survivor, rest and self-care are vital for you to thrive. We need to make sure that we are well enough to hold down a job and get to that paycheck at the end of the month.
I know several people, including teachers, who cannot afford to take a day off, even when they are sick. It’s crazy that our culture promotes such constant “hamster wheeling” in our workforce. Yet here we are, in a culture where workaholics and overachievers are rewarded, and relaxing is frowned on.
I urge you to try to slow down and give journaling a shot, even if you don’t want to. A side-effect of healing from trauma is to keep so busy that you don’t have time to feel.
Now, you can feel through your pen, in small moments.
Have you heard of the saying: How Does a Mouse Eat an Elephant?
In Small Bites.
If a mouse can eat an elephant, I’m sure you can journal for 5–10 minutes per day.
That’s it.
No more.
Start small and you will soon begin to feel the benefits.
Benefits of Journaling:
· De-clutters those busy thoughts from your mind, and introduces calm in their place.
· Promotes better sleep from that newfound calmness you have gained.
· Provides you with a nice balance in a routine out of your busy schedule.
· Enhances your ability to focus your thoughts and gives you mental clarity.
· Restores your ability to self-regulate those feelings and emotions by giving you back energy and vitality.
Start a Journaling habit
Ever since I was a young girl, I have always been a writer. I have found a quiet place to write down my thoughts and feelings. It began as a way to survive my impossible childhood, but the habit has stuck with me. As I got older, I fell naturally into journaling. But I’m aware that not everyone knows the benefits of this targeted exercise.
Journaling is:
Simple — Anyone can journal at almost no cost.
Transformative — It promotes long-lasting well-being and a positive attitude.
Effective — It is a proven psychological tool for improving mental health.
Effortless — It requires only a few minutes of your busy day.
Journaling is such a simple tool that is available at almost no cost. No skill is needed apart from being able to hold a pencil and write a few words. You don’t need to be a professional writer. All you need is a piece of paper and a pen. Most of us have those items lying around the house.
If you want something a bit nicer, you can use a pad or book to write in.
If you are someone who doesn’t like “a blank page,” you can choose to buy journals with quotes and writing prompts in them to get you started. Amazon sells these journals by the millions. They’re called anything from “Journal,” “Gratitude Journal,” or “Mindfulness Journal.”
Some of these come with reflections and affirmations, while others are blank with writing frames. What you choose for your journaling is entirely up to you.
A Time to Be You
Journaling is a unique opportunity to carve out 5–10 minutes of your day where you write down your feelings and thoughts. You may choose to write down your worries, too. What you write is up to you.
When will you journal?
It’s completely up to you where you choose to sit or lie down to journal. You might be a morning person and prefer the quiet when everybody is still asleep, and the day has yet to come. Or you might prefer to journal at the end of the day.
The main thing is to choose a time that suits you the best, and make sure you do it in a place where you can be alone with your thoughts.
It is in the silence that you hear the loudest things.
I love that saying, but I don’t know where it’s from.)
I have always chosen to do my journaling at the end of the day. I can relax in the quiet when the kids are in bed and the house is straightened out and ready for the next day.
I sit down with my journal, breathe, and reflect on my day. Sometimes I write about my day and what’s been going on, other times I look to the future and set myself some goals on what needs to happen in the coming days. This is especially important when it comes to the kids and work because there is always something that needs to be done or planned ahead. Journaling has become my refuge where I can sort my feelings and thoughts and pour them onto a piece of paper. If I’m upset or worried, it goes in my journal. There, I’ve voiced my feelings, and now I’m feeling better.
The one thing I have made a habit of doing is to write down the things that I am grateful for. It’s something that my therapist asked me to do years ago, and the habit stuck.
When your life is hard and the going gets tough, you cannot always look ahead. There are too many obstacles in the way. As trauma survivors, we have seen too much already, and when our world gets temporarily dark, it’s hard to see the brightness.
This is when it’s important to try to see the glimmers of goodness in your day.
Even during the worst day of your life, there will be something small that was not awful. That right there is what you need to focus on. Don’t dwell on the bad in your life. Instead, focus on those tiny glimmers of goodness.
Yeah, yeah — you say. I don’t have those….
I call it BS — everyone has glimmers, but you need to be open enough to see them. Look around you and think about what happened before the awful things. There will be something — I guarantee it.
If you start looking for those glimmers and add them up in your journal, you will soon have a plethora of goodness to look back on. Trust me, you will be starting to look forward to journaling. Those moments will be your comfort in your dark days.
Give it a fair shake. C’mon, what have you got to lose?
My name is Lizzy, and I’m a mom, teacher, author, and mental health blogger. I write for those who don’t always feel that they have a voice. For more about me, my books, and articles, check out my website: www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com
Support my writing, and buy me a coffee. I love a Cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles (Yes, because I deserve them.)
https://ko-fi.com/elizabe69245484here
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For more about me: https://www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com
Elizabeth Woods grew up in a world of brutal sex offenders, murderers, and inconceivably neglectful adults. She suffered sexual abuse throughout her childhood and witnessed unspeakable events. Elizabeth survived in an environment where most people would not. She is now able to help other survivors heal from trauma through her writing and blogs. Elizabeth is passionate about spreading awareness of what it is like to survive after trauma. There is always hope.
Elizabeth is the author of several books and has written her memoir, telling her childhood story: The Sex-Offender’s Daughter: A True Story of Survival Against All Odds, available on Amazon Kindle and paperback.
Elizabeth is also the author of “Living with Complex PTSD” and the Cedar’s Port Fiction series: “Saving Joshua”, “Protecting Sarah”, “Guarding Noah” and “Bringing Back Faith” available here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BCBZQN7L/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=7e223b5b-1a29-45f0-ad9d-e9c8fdb59e9c&ref_=ap_rdr&ccs_id=931f96e2-c220-4765-acc8-cc99bb95e8bd
