How to process hard stuff with journaling

From November 6, 2024 newsletter, Loose Pages:

I woke up to the terrible news this morning. I had so many thoughts and feelings running through my head. And I’m sure many of you did too. Journaling is so helpful with processing hard stuff. Here are two different types of journaling that help me.

1. Slow journaling

This morning. I found myself going into catastrophic thinking. Rather than sitting with my emotions, I was mentally preparing for the worst. Slow journaling is the practice of intentionally slowing down the pace of my writing. This is akin to a walking meditation. Before I start, I like to pause for a moment, put my hands on my heart and belly, and take a few breaths to identify a feeling: e.g., fear, anger, grief, disappointment. I acknowledge that feeling by saying in my head, “I see you <feeling>”. I write this emotion down but I do it S-L-O-W-L-Y. I observe how this emotion feels inside of me as I write. Once I finish writing the word I write about my experience with this emotion at the same slow pace and with the same observing attention. If I catch myself speeding up, I slow it back down. I let myself pause sometimes to really feel into what I’m feeling. I notice the thoughts or emotions that come up and allow them to flow without judgment, simply observing them as I write, accepting them as is.

In times of crisis, it is easy to put our attention on everything else but ourselves. Slow journaling gives us a moment to be available to ourselves and the resources we have within. I experience the power of presence when I slow journal and presence always seems to win out over my hard feelings.

Slow journaling doesn’t feel easy for me. I feel impatient and I always feel the urge to speed up. But every time I slow journal, I recognize a feeling and then that feeling loses a bit of its power.

2. Thought release journaling

For me, this type of journaling feels easier. But I don’t think it is for everyone. Thought release journaling is a freeform, unfiltered form of journaling. I often start my journaling sessions with this because it removes the cognitive clutter so I can get to deeper reflection and clarity. I write out all my thoughts and feelings as they come. It’s like a mind dump. It doesn’t need to be organized. I don’t have to worry about grammar or spelling or writing quality. I just write. And I let it all out and it always feels good to do this.

There is no set order for these two techniques and you can even just choose one. I found both to be helpful for me today. Either way, they are two tools you can put in your self-care toolbox!

If you try these out, let me know how it goes in the comments!

Here for you.