I am currently using stoic. — day 440, so it seems it is over a year now.
I started using it because when I was like 14-17 I remember doing something like that in notebooks, writing down some ideas, sometimes dreams and whatnot. Later I lost them somehow and lately was wondering what would be there if I would ever find them…
There is this neat feature in stoic that shows you under the latest note what you wrote one month ago. There is much more to this app, but it is mostly a journal for me.
I keep a daily journal whenever I go on vacations (especially trips abroad). While I do take photos throughout the trips, I’m not taking them constantly. So lots of little fun/interesting experiences pop up that aren’t captured.
My memory isn’t the best either, so when I think back on trips I tend to remember the big things versus the little ones. Journaling at the end of the day or in the morning helps me remember the little things. Also, what I was thinking throughout it all. Like being stranded in Rottenburg ob der Tauber after my train was cancelled. Or when a little dog in the park did a front foot handstand and peed backwards. I couldn’t get my phone out in time, but I wrote that down ASAP.
When I’m feeling frustrated or anxious I try to just write what I’m feeling and work through it. Sometimes that’s affirmations (I am good enough, I am safe and loved, etc) and sometimes it’s just brainstorming for how to solve something. I find just getting it out of my head and onto paper at least lets me more effectively get a grasp on what’s bothering me even if it doesn’t fix anything.
Writing things down also helps me realize that sometimes I’m just being unreasonable, haha.
I don’t really go back and read most of it, it’s more like scratch paper for my brain.
I have tried a few times to journal when I want to let things out of my system… but haven’t found it much helpful in reducing the miserable feeling. Maybe if I am consistent it will change things.
I’ve started journaling recently to proces some major events for myself. I find that it helps me quiet the thoughts that would otherwise continue to grind through my head.
Not sure how long I’ll be able to keep it up. But on the other hand, if I stop it might mean that it has served its purpose and I no longer need it.
I do. Not as often as I’d like sometimes. I treat it like I’m writing a letter to someone who doesn’t exist. It helps me vent whatever I’ve been struggling with, or take some pride in the things that have gone right for me. I feel weird talking about stuff like that with friends and family, so this gives me an empty void to talk into without worry of judgement. I started doing it a while ago after going through some therapy and it’s been the one thing that’s actually helped post-therapy. My journal lives in a Linux partition on my main PC through an encrypted file that has a different password than any I use elsewhere. No one that has access to that computer can navigate how I have Linux set up, nor would they know how to go through the terminal to decrypt the file. These protections are in place to ensure that no one sees anything they shouldn’t. If you do journal, I recommend taking similar precautions, but I’m also not mentally well and paranoid to boot, so grain of salt and all that
I have always found it difficult journaling. Whenever I tried to journal my pain it never became lighter. I have also been scared of any of my writing being accessible to anyone, i like your idea and will try it.
I hope it works out for you! If you’re Linux based, I recommend jrnl. It’s a lightweight terminal tool that handles logging and accessing your journal entries and has an encryption option built in. Through the config, you can use whatever text editor you want. I’m using vim because I hate myself!
As for the experience, it really takes some time to get used to. When I first started, I found myself “faking it” for lack of a better word. I wasn’t actually writing what I was feeling, I was writing what I’d want someone else to read if they found it. After a while, that became less of the norm and I started treating it like a pen pal that I never heard back from. It lets me kind of put things into perspective and really dig into why I think I’m feeling what I’m feeling. Writing that you’re mad won’t make you not mad. Writing what made you mad, why you think it bothers you, etc. Won’t really make you not mad. The latter helps you understand what’s going on better and then you can work on regulating yourself from there
It’ll take some time, but the more you do it, the more comfortable it gets. At first it’s going to feel kind of cringey. That feeling fades with time. Just gotta keep in mind that you’re writing for you, not for anyone else. Also jrnl is available through the aur and GitHub. I don’t currently run anything other than garuda so I can’t speak for how available it is on Debian/fedora/etc
Sort of, I keep a gratitude journal. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I add an entry and have been doing it since late 2015.
It’s helped me be more appreciative of what I already have and be satisfied with those things instead of always wanting more and more. My mentally before was “I’ll be happy when”, now my mentally is “I wake up happy and do what it takes to defend that mental state.” I find my life feels a lot better now even though you could argue it’s about the same.
I mean my kids are all now adults and my relationship with my wife is the best it’s ever been and work is amazing and all. But I think for the most part those are going well because I’m going well, not the other way around.
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