Journaling: The greatest hug you can give yourself

From eminetracanada.com

Blog post by Katy Miller

When it comes to self-care, journaling can provide the highest return on investment. Bringing a pen to paper will reward you in all aspects of your emotional, mental, physical and spiritual life.

Clean up your heart

Recording the internal mechanics helps you reorganize your story and prioritize your needs. Your feelings mean you can feel, and by writing them down, you literally move them elsewhere from your heart. This gives your emotions a foot, brings your emotions to life, and authenticates your experience somewhere good, bad, or in between.

Writing down your thoughts can ease the turmoil. With less mind clutter, you can focus on the actual work, such as planning, execution, decision making, and problem solving. A clear mind exists at that moment and creates the ability to live.

Create an outlet

Dr. James W. Penebaker and Joshua M. Smith, pioneers of expressive writing, confront personal thoughts by writing to our basic values, thought patterns, and feelings for ourselves. Say it can affect you. According to these social psychologists who co-authored the book “Opening Up by Write it Down,” having negativeness without creating an exit to disperse negativeness significantly reduces our mental and physical well-being. May cause you to.

Writing about sadness, sadness, loneliness, anger, and fear can be difficult to express, but it can relieve emotional pain. Writing about big emotions gives you better coping, better control, and ultimately better mood. It respects emotions but limits their power over your life.

Journaling allows you to tell a story personally without making any judgment. Some people agree with the writing and tear or burn it after writing the philosophy because they benefit from the writing experience and there is no risk of exposure.

Health benefits

Some argue that the greatest reward for maintaining a journaling habit is an investment in physical health. Studies show that improving journaling not only strengthens psychosomatic medicine, but also strengthens the lymphatic system, boosts immunity, reduces depression and anxiety, lowers blood pressure, improves sleep, and heals chronic pain.

Just keeping a gratitude diary can have a positive effect on your health in just two weeks after you start your regular practice. Dr. Laurie Santos, a professor of psychology at Yale University and the creator and facilitator of the well-being science course, is grateful for the improvement in well-being, not just identifying it. Is to re-experience. To be. The benefits of journaling are cumulative and manifested in the coherence of activity, so it is important to rewire the brain to make this a habit.

Journaling can be as simple or complex as you want, but there is one thing for sure. That is, there is more than one correct way to create a journal. It’s an accessible, personal journey tailored to what resonates with you when you find the mood of your own diary. Give yourself that big embrace when considering the meditative mind-clearing therapy of journaling. The ROI is very large and deserves it.

https://eminetracanada.com/journaling-the-greatest-hug-you-can-give-yourself/413706/ 

Keeping Anne Frank’s story alive in Iowa

From dailyiowan.com

Through the Let Me Be Myself: The Life Story of Anne Frank exhibit, a tree planting ceremony, and virtual webinars, Anne Frank’s story is taught, discussed, and kept alive at the University of Iowa 

The cascading reverse-spiral staircase connects the two elements of the Let Me Be Myself: The Life Story of Anne Frank exhibit — past and present.

The life of Anne Frank is chronicled from birth to death with photos and historical information presented in the exhibit, along with various artefacts that relate to her story. The contemporary portion of the exhibit describes the lives of four other young people who face adversity today and are on display in the first-floor rotunda.

Written nearly 80 years ago, the impact of Anne Frank’s diary has persisted. The diary, one of the most well-recognized pieces of literature of all time, has now taken form as a traveling exhibit that has made a stop at the centre of the University of Iowa campus as part of the Provost’s Global Forum, an annual event on the UI campus that is focused on global issues.

As this year’s forum, the theme is “Teaching Anne Frank” — organizers have ensured that the exhibit maintains a distinct focus on education. The museum exhibit is one of many events that contribute to keeping Frank’s story alive in Iowa.

Russell Ganim, associate provost and dean of International Programs, said Frank’s story was chosen to be amplified this year because, along with the universal knowledge that surrounds her story, the general themes addressed in the exhibit are applicable to everyone.

“This is a universal story about persistence and personal triumph,” Ganim said. “Similarly, it’s about discrimination, prejudice, bias, persecution — I think that those are themes that Iowans and really everyone can understand and learn from.”

Despite Frank’s life being marked by tragedy, readers still draw messages of hope from her diary. Carolina Kaufman, director of education and engagement at the museum, said Frank’s story still connects directly with the present, and has the potential to resonate deeply with attendees on a personal level.

“1.5 million children died,” Kaufman said, referring to the children — most of them Jewish — who were killed during World War II. “These things, you know, are hard. They’re hard topics, but we have to talk about them, and we have to do it in a way that invites people to share their own experiences.”

The exhibit will remain open until March 2. Guests can visit on the weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a self-guided tour.  Tours led by peer facilitators can also be scheduled for middle school, high school, and university groups.

                                                                               Jack McGuire

      The University of Iowa welcomes an exhibit on Anne Frank in the Old Capitol on Friday, Feb 4, 2022

Kael Sagheer, education coordinator for the Institute for Holocaust Education, facilitated the training with the peer facilitators at the UI. Emphasizing the importance of personal connection, Sagheer explained that the tour guides are not given scripts, and instead rely on their own knowledge and experiences to share Frank’s story with others.

“We want them to connect with themselves,” Sagheer said. “We want them to connect with each other, and then ultimately, we want them to connect to Anne Frank and the exhibit.”

The exhibit is also accompanied by two virtual webinars moderated by Kaufman. The first webinar will take place on Feb. 9, with a focus on historic events that tie Frank’s story to Iowa. The lens is widened in the second webinar on March 9, looking at the impact that Frank had on the literary world.

Both the webinars and the exhibit work in tandem to allow for discussion and communication. Kaufman said finding ways to remember both the historical content and modern applications is one of the most important aspects.

“The Old Capitol Museum serves as a centre for discourse, and we want to continue inviting that discourse to happen,” Kaufman said. “Anne Frank is one avenue for that. We’ve been fortunate that we were chosen as a site to host that exhibit.”

Frank’s story has several direct relationships to the state of Iowa. As a UNESCO City of Literature, Iowa City is a hub for writers. UI German instructor Kirsten Kumpf-Baele saw the connection between Frank’s writing and Iowa City and developed a plan.

Through her own research and her passion for communicating Frank’s story to others, Kumpf-Baele founded the Anne Frank Tree: Taking Root in Iowa.

On April 29, the UI will plant a sapling at the Pentacrest propagated from a chestnut tree that Frank wrote about in her diary. Kumpf-Baele was involved in the whole process, from initially sending out emails during the foundational steps to planning the planting ceremony.

“Her tree represents so much: a reminder of her and many others’ horrible stories of persecution but also a symbol of beauty, of humanity, of an undying spirit,” Kumpf-Baele wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan. “May generations feel inspired for years to come.”

Frank wrote in her diary that she wanted to go on living even after her death — and she did, Kaufman said.

“Anne Frank was a writer. That’s what she wanted to be,” Kaufman said. “Through her powerful words, we were able to understand what it was like for her growing up as a teenager, being in the family, being a Jew, all these multi-layered aspects of her identity came out through her diary.”

https://dailyiowan.com/2022/02/08/keeping-anne-franks-story-alive-in-iowa/

A voyage to the interior

From gulfnews.com

I enjoy going through my old diaries as I am reminded of experiences and emotions 

Every year I look forward to freebies from banks such as diaries, wall calendars and desk calendars. But these past few years all these organisations have tightened their belts and no gifts are forthcoming.

One bank offered me an exercise book instead, which I disdainfully declined. I thought back to a time when you were offered all these without having to ask. Sometimes, if you pushed your luck, you might even be given more than one of each. Laden with these gifts, you then distributed the extras to family and friends.

I have maintained a diary for more years than I can remember and writing down all that you did each day also served as a reminder of when, where and why. There were certain calendars that were coveted such as those of Air India. The art work was exquisite and when the year ended, you kept them as collector’s items, intending to maybe frame them some day.

Marking important dates on calendars served as a powerful reminder and made sure you never forgot birthdays, anniversaries or appointments. They also helped keep track of the passage of time and there was a sense of satisfaction when you could tear off a page as the month ended. Of course, if there were beautiful pictures or paintings, you just turned it over to the next month.

                                                              Image Credit: Shutterstock

A date in the future

Often you marvelled at how quickly a month had passed or wondered why a particular month seemed so long. I have often wondered why a month with 31 days seems interminably long as compared to 30 days. What difference does a day make? Actually, it does make a difference when you are looking forward to a date in the future and the days seem to crawl.

Calendars are comforting somehow as it is reassuring to know that time can be categorised in units. I know that one can use the calendar on one’s phone for reminders but somehow I remember things better when I can see the date circled. I don’t have to worry that I will forget an important date because all I have to do is refer to my calendar. The day I want to be reminded of has been circled and a little abbreviated note tells me exactly why this reminder is important.

Coming back to diaries, as a teenager this was an important outlet for venting if one felt frustrated by the actions of others. You could pour your heart out in these pages and it was an effective therapeutic tool. Somehow there was a tacit understanding within the family that this diary was not to be read by anyone else.

Historical value

Diaries have historical value too such as those of Samuel Pepys and Anne Frank. My diary might not offer important insights into the time period I have lived in but it is a record of my personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. I wouldn’t want anyone else to read it even when I am long gone.

Nowadays people write blogs or vlogs but these are read by a select few. Keeping a diary helps you deal with stress or negativity as jotting down your thoughts makes you mindful of what you are feeling at a particular time and helps regulate emotions.

I enjoy going through my old diaries as I am reminded of experiences and emotions that were so all-consuming at the time but now, with the passage of time, I can look back without a certain detachment and enjoy the account as something that was in the past and that perhaps helped shape me.

In the words of Martina Navratilova, “Keeping a journal of what’s going on in your life is a good way to help you distil what’s important and what’s not.”

Vanaja Rao is a freelance writer based in Hyderabad, India

https://gulfnews.com/opinion/off-the-cuff/a-voyage-to-the-interior-1.85396600

DIARY OF A DEMENTED HOME WORKER: Keeping things real this January

From southernstar.ie

By Emma Connolly

It’s week 97 and with Blue Monday looming large in the calendar, here are some of my typically down to earth suggestions on how to get, and keep, a good grip on yourself

• NEXT Monday has been declared as Blue Monday – officially the bluest day of the year. Era, it’s a load of old twoddle really but sure it’s handy enough to be able to blame your foul mood on something. And there’s still two more Mondays in the month to get through after that – five in total. Mother of God! Whose idea was that? Anyway in a bid to make Mondays less mournful, and to cheer up all the other days in between this month, I’ve compiled a few tips to lift the mood. I’ve taken it for granted that we’re all up to speed on the tried and tested (and soul-crushingly boring) things like drinking more water, getting fresh air, taking deep breaths and going for walks so my suggestions are a bit more well, basic for you to try, at your own risk of course ….

• Let’s start with this one – take to the bed for a day. Yes, one whole day.  If you’re not already self-isolating and possibly doing this anyway, take on the persona of a Victorian woman who needs lots of bed rest, can’t tolerate day light, and who won’t be receiving any visitors for 24 hours. Key to this being a success is to stock up on lots of treats in advance to binge on (multiple bags of toxic crisps like Monster Munch, a 2L bottle of Sprite, a whole Netflix season, face masks and those booties that promise to make your feet look less like hooves, that don’t really work, but still feel really nice). By bedtime you’ll probably feel a bit delirious (and properly sick from all the crisps), but at least you’ll be grateful to rejoin civilisation (and won’t want to see a crisp until March). For the rest of the month do the exact opposite and try to get up half an hour before the rest of the house. The early bird gets a head start on the day and all the rest (or at least gets to scroll Insta and have the first coffee in peace).

• Next, stay in touch with reality and finally accept that the chances of you winning the Lotto and starting a new life in St Barts are slim (slimmer than you were when you got married). You’ve a far better chance of winning your local GAA lotto so support that instead and at least you’ll feel like you’re doing something good for your community.

It’s normal to feel a bit down in the dumps at this time of the year but take some of my advice and January will be hoot. A bit of a hoot, anyway. At least some of the time.

• Now that we’ve that sorted, and sort of on a similar theme, stop fantasising about jacking in your 9/5 job and becoming a travel blogger (vlogger?). I know you read that article about that person who handed in their notice and is living the dream making millions doing exactly this (I read it too), but I definitely wouldn’t chance it until you’ve got the mortgage paid. And put the kids through college (where they’ll probably taunt you by studying vlogging). Book a holiday instead and get a grip on yourself.

• Without getting too abstract, realise you can’t control people, but you can control your reactions to them. The simple fact is that there are always going to be very annoying people in this world who will drive you to distraction. And somehow they seem even more irritating than usual in January, probably because you’ve stopped day drinking (if you haven’t yet, it’s time). Make a conscious choice not to blow up/freak out every time you encounter such a person/situation and you’ll start to feel a whole lot better. Repeat after me: ‘I’m a lover, not a fighter.’

• Oh yes, here’s a good one. Do something new. Mix things up. Experts say the novelty of doing something new has far-reaching benefits for your mental health and it’s true. It doesn’t have to be anything extreme like sky diving either, or Zumba dancing (shudder). It could be zip-lining though. Why should kids get all the fun? Or it might be something simpler like turning right, when you always turn left at a certain junction to see where the road less travelled takes; choosing a different beach or wood for your walk; eating dinner at the table instead of the kitchen island or changing your handbag for one you haven’t used in ages. Go on you mad thing!

• I tend to roll my eyes a bit when I hear people talking about self-care. Lighting a candle and having a bath? I’m going to need more than that, sorry. But how about trying to be a little more selfish instead? Yes please.  Start suiting yourself a bit more and see how good it feels. Obviously there’s a few non-negotiables like going to work (stop day dreaming about being a vlogger!), making the dinner and doing the school runs but for example if you really don’t feel like meeting someone – just say no! Hmmm, right now I can’t think of anything else you could legitimately say no to, as an adult, without being irresponsible or just a bit weird but there’s bound to be others if you think hard enough.

• Of course a really obvious one that most of us don’t do enough of, is to laugh. Not just a chuckle, or a polite giggle, but proper, uncontrollable skitting. The kind you used to do regularly in school, usually during a school mass. Something really completely random set me off the other night, I can’t remember what it was (well I can, but for legal reasons I better not share!), but I laughed for around three minutes solid and I felt lighter (emotionally, not physically unfortunately), even if my husband looked really alarmed. Find something to set you off. Dancing with the Stars maybe? Or YouTube clips of people falling over. They’re always gas. And sure if all that fails, there’s a bit of a stretch coming already (another walk anyone?) so the brighter days are coming, and in the meantime why not give Wordle a whirl? Look it up. You’re welcome.

https://www.southernstar.ie/life/diary-of-a-demented-home-worker-keeping-things-real-this-january-4236483

When catharsis and expression collide

From palatinate.org.uk

By Josie Lockwood

When I was little, I was a serial journal keeper. I would obsessively jot down each detail of my life: what the weather was like, who I’d played with at break time, which flavour of yoghurt had been in my packed lunch. I had one of those Girl Tech password journals, the garish pink and purple ones that you unlock with your voice. I wrote in it religiously, using an invisible ink marker pen. 

Looking back on it now, I understand why I was so insistent on writing in invisible ink. It promised an extra degree of privacy. I’m not sure what deep, dark secrets my seven-year-old self thought she was hiding, but being able to keep them concealed felt comforting. Indeed, this is the beauty of keeping a diary. It’s the only truly private form of literary expression. It’s an intimate process of writing to yourself, for yourself. A way of documenting your innermost thoughts, feelings and experiences, without having to share them with anyone else. 

I still keep countless little journals hidden around my bedroom. I have one where I keep all the cards and letters people have ever written to me. In another, I store mementos that I can’t bring myself to part with: ticket stubs, receipts, photographs, newspaper clippings. My favourite Moleskine notebook is filled with things people have said to me in passing that I don’t want to forget; a collection of minuscule moments that I crave to capture in time. Even the Notes app on my phone is clustered with song lyrics, compliments from strangers, and dream anecdotes. By writing down and pasting in pieces of my past that are packed with sentiment, I feel like I’m able to preserve them forever.

                                                Image: lilartsy via Unsplash.

At the start of a new year, I always start a new diary of some description. For 2022, I’m compiling a scrapbook. University passes by in a frenzied blur of summative essays and drunken nights out, and I want to make something that can help me slow time and remember all the good things that have happened. I’m never the same person at the end of the year as I was at the beginning. Each experience that unfolds along the way, whether it be good or bad, shapes and moulds me into an entirely different person. Keeping a journal is immensely cathartic to me, as it helps me trace my steps and watch the ways in which I’ve evolved. 

Writing a diary is an innately cathartic process. It offers the opportunity to slow down, to suspend precious moments in time, to reflect. It helps us cling onto the moments we feel nostalgic for before they’ve even finished flickering by. It allows us to look back at who we have been, and project forwards to who we wish to become. In a world that moves so quickly, a diary is the perfect way to distil yourself in each page that you write. Each line melts into the next, like a dot-to-dot drawing of the memories that have comprised your journey. By the time you’ve filled the last page of your notebook, you have crafted an item that is intrinsically you. It is your own unique experience; you are and will always be the only person to have lived it and felt it in precisely the way that you have. And that’s a beautiful thing to preserve.

A diary is an outlet. A place where you can be entirely honest, offload any anxieties or bitterness, and air the feelings that you don’t wish to articulate aloud. There is no fear of judgment or prying eyes. It is a platform that allows you to find permanence in the transient. And at the end of the year, it’s deeply rewarding to relive your highs, your lows, your mistakes, and your crescendos.

https://www.palatinate.org.uk/when-catharsis-and-expression-collide/

 

Consistently inconsistent: my battle with journaling

From nouse.co.uk

Emily Warner explores the benefits of journaling as a New Year's resolution

A quick Google search for, ‘the number of people who fail to keep their New Year’s resolution’ yields hundreds of studies that all show the same thing – we are not very good at sticking to our goals. The statistics vary but it seems that about two thirds of people give up their New Year’s resolution within the first month and I willingly admit that usually, I am a part of that majority.

Every 1 January, brimming with the excitement of a new year ahead and fuelled by a smattering of self-improvement ads, I sit down, sharpen my pencil, and vow to keep a diary. I don’t know if it is the part of myself that vaguely aspires to be a writer, or the beautifully rendered pages of calligraphy I see on my Instagram or perhaps a genuine attempt to reflect on my day, but regardless I have always wanted to commit to journaling. Inevitably, life and its pragmatism intervene and within several days my goal has dissipated into an ether of unfulfilled resolutions from years past. I watch as it fades into the abyss alongside half-hearted attempts to take up Zumba, run a marathon, or drink six litres of water every day and resign myself to failure.

Not this year. This year, I have set myself a goal which is impossible to fail and that is to be consistently inconsistent in my approach to journaling. Let me elaborate.

                                               Image Credit: Emily Warner

It all began with a notebook. Not a fancy bullet journal with gold-leaf embellishments and neat boxes of lines, demanding to be filled. Nor a diary with a date scrawled across each page, dictating how much and which day to write (if I am doing exams, I will need a LOT of room to complain about them). Just a simple, lined notebook. My downfall, I realised, was the sense of obligation that accompanied keeping a diary, making the process feel more like a chore than a pleasure. Therefore, I need only eliminate that pressure by writing intermittently instead of daily. This meant that if I was stressed, or excited, or happy, I could pour out my verbal diarrhoea onto the page uninhibited (and save the ears of my flatmates who are usually forced to hear it). Alternatively, if my biggest achievement of the day is ‘I bought a 32p banana at Aldi’, I don’t have to write anything at all that day. This method has the bonus of making my life seem way more exciting than it really is because every entry is usually a melodramatic monologue about something.

I am not just a crazy English student though, there is lots of scientific evidence showing the benefits of journaling in many different aspects of life. Firstly, there are obvious psychological benefits that emerge from the process of free writing (essentially the act of writing in an uninhibited way without judgement – so the opposite of writing an essay). It is also sometimes known as stream of consciousness, a term that first emerged in 1980. This practice involves writing without expectation so that the writing produced is often raw and emotional and encourages the beneficial process of emotional confrontation and reflection. As a result, stress levels decrease and mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, PTSD and body image distortions can be alleviated, feelings which most students are familiar with in some form.

Improved well being in itself is a huge advantage of writing, but the benefits do not end there. Science has shown that journaling can lower blood pressure, boost the immune system and increase our ability to fight serious illnesses. That means you can stop popping your vitamin D pills and pick up a pen instead; an essay a day keeps the Covid away (to clarify, this is not backed up by scientific evidence so don’t be too quick emptying your medicine cabinet). Keeping a diary is also important for memory function because the act of recalling and recording the day employs our working memory, associated with absorbing and applying new information.

On top of this, journaling increases our self-awareness and invites reflection on our relationships, sometimes helping us to negotiate issues and strengthen our bond with others. You can say that next time someone accidently reads your journal and finds a long list of complaints, perhaps a page dedicated to ‘top ten ways my mother drives me mad’ or ‘reasons my friends are all irritating cows’ (not that I’ve written anything like that before). In total sincerity however, this space to reconsider the way you interact with those around you can be helpful for navigating the messy world of girlfriends, boyfriends, best friends, parents, Terrence from next door and whoever else you are dealing with. It is a complicated world out there.

Perhaps I am a slightly dramatic person by nature, but I find the act of writing down my emotions and anxieties an effective way of managing these feelings.  The phrase ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ is frequently thrown around but sharing a problem is not always possible. Sometimes we don’t want to talk or we don’t have anyone willing to listen but I promise you, an empty page is always happy to share the burden. So why not try starting your own journal? Write your way to better memory, better health, better relationships, and a happier mind and if you don’t notice any differences, at least you’ve written a bestseller by the end of it (if any of you do get to publish your journal, I’ll be expecting a vote of thanks in the acknowledgments). I think that sounds like a New Year’s resolution worth keeping.

https://nouse.co.uk/2022/01/13/consistently-inconsistent-my-battle-with-journaling-

 

Eagle Archives, Jan. 10, 1940: Local woman's diary-keeping record surpassed by former resident of Berkshire Massachusetts

From berkshireeagle.com

From the Jan. 10, 1940, Eagle 

Fifty-one years is a long time, but keeping a diary for that period kept the championship for that particular type of journal in the possession of Mrs. Henry J. Eldridge of 19 Harvard Street for only one week.

Today it was learned that George C. Dunbar of Westfield, a former resident of this city, had been making daily notations pertaining to himself and his family for 59 years. As Mr. Dunbar stated in a letter to The Eagle:

“I am not willing to have a woman beat me out, even though it is a leap year.”

The one time Pittsfield man who was employed by the Pittsfield Electric Company as an engineer started to chronicle his life story on Jan. 1, 1881, and hasn’t missed a day since. He has all of the diaries except for the first four which he recently destroyed, retaining their record.

As the years passed, Mr. Dunbar’s children became interested in his painstaking efforts, and requested that he provide each one of them with a copy. Therefore in 1932, he started to type up all of his diaries. He used carbon paper, and made three copies, one for each of his children.

According to his figures, the history covered 184 closely-written pages, and contained 86,400 words. Actual typing required 210 hours.

He wrote a dedicatory preface to each of his children, and then had the manuscript bound in book form under the title of “My Diary Book, 1885-1933.”

With the passage of eight more years, Mr. Dunbar feels it soon will be time to add the intervening records in manuscript form as a supplement to the original volume.

All of the important events of his life, the activity of his children from birth to maturity, and most of the important national and local happenings of the past half century are included in the diaries. There is a very complete section on the World War, and a detailed story of the March (1888) blizzard.

For many years, Mr. Dunbar was supervisor of the Westfield Power Company. He is a brother-in-law of Frank Howard of this city, having married Miss Celestia Howard at her South Street home Oct. 10, 1888. Rev. I. C. Smart, then pastor of the South Congregational Church, officiated.

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/history/eagle-archives-jan-10-1940-local-womans-diary-keeping-record-surpassed-by-former-resident-of/article_b3d0b0ee-6d76-11ec-94b4-f3fe7d1ab62c.html