I was listening to an interview with Martine McCutcheon on the Graham Norton show on Monday. She was talking about how she hadn’t been around for a few years now. She talked about her struggling with health issues and how writing helped her to heal. She said she started writing down everything she felt. Not with any aim, or that anybody would read it. She talked about how it helped her over her burn out and focus on what’s really important in her life.

I started a personal journal about a year ago. I read in a book about journaling that t actually make a date with your journal. To really take your time with it. So I went into the Paperchase shop to chose a diary. I didn’t just want to buy any old diary, we were going to spend a lot of time together. So I chose this one:

The very first time I wrote in it, I actually went to ‘pret a manger’ like on a real date. I ordered my favourite sandwich and drink. they do this lovely chicken avocado sandwich and a peach green tea, cold in a bottle. With that I sat down and stared writing. i didn’t really have a plan on what to write I just wrote down what I felt like, what was going on in my head, what I was struggling with. This is a very private journal and nobody but me is meant to read it.

Writing down everything has helped me to put things into perspective. It really helps to see it there written down and then think about it again. It has helped me to sometimes find alternative ways to sort out a problem, or to talk to people. Instead of carrying it all around in my head I ma now able to empty out onto the pages and go back to it if I want to. Journaling or diary writing has really helped me a lot. I now don’t always go on a date with my diary, I just did it the first time to get started. But now and again when I feel I feel m y thoughts are stuck and I feel my home is stopping me from thinking, i will take my diary and go to a coffee shop, and that usually helps to let the thoughts flow again. I can highly recommend writing a journal or diary to help you heal your life. It’s not the solution for everything but it is a step towards feeling better xxx