So now that we established that you don’t need to journal every day, I wanted to check in. How does that make you feel? For some, it’s an absolute relief. Others meet it with suspicion. Journaling can feel so stress-relieving. Why wouldn’t you do it every day? Well, the answer may sound extreme, but you could be addicted to journaling.
Does this sound like you? You told yourself you’d write for 15 minutes. After putting pen to paper, the feelings just keep rushing out. Not only do you answer the prompt, but you also explore every childhood trauma and current trigger. You forget everything around you for a moment…or more than a moment. Before you know it, you’ve been writing for an hour or more. And instead of feeling lighter, you just feel tired. Then the cycle continues. Every. Single. Day. This is incredibly common.
What Do I Mean by Addiction
There are so many ways to define addiction. To be clear, I 100% DO NOT believe someone can be addicted to their journal in the same way someone may experience a substance abuse issue. Instead, I follow the secondary Merriam-Webster definition:
a strong inclination to do, use, or indulge in something repeatedly
This inclination can certainly apply to anything we do when it comes to self-care. Journaling is no exception.
Venting Versus Emotional Dumping
Everyone needs to vent. Venting is simply allowing yourself free expression. Whether that is between you and a friend or you and your journal, it is incredibly important. But, like all things, it should be done in moderation.
We all know that venting can easily become emotional dumping. Emotional dumping is when you vent about the same thing endlessly and do nothing to change your situation. It can be incredibly draining for the person on the receiving end. Emotional dumping also never feels truly satisfying to the person over sharing.
I think we all take steps not to dump on our friend. But our journals are a different story. When we don’t actively set limits for ourselves, we can easily overwrite. Ironically, this is a big energy drainer. The intention is self-care, but this kind of emotional dumping in your journal has a compounded effect. You are both the sharer and the receiver when you write a private journal. That means you will be left drained and unsatisfied (which will absolutely not lead to a journaling habit that sticks).
Journaling and Therapy – The Perfect Pair
Before I tell you all of the tips and tricks you can use to make sure you are not addicted to journaling, I want to give a big disclaimer. Nothing (and I mean nothing), will help you set internal boundaries like a good therapy session.
There is a big joke in the journaling community that journaling is a ‘therapy dupe’. While I agree that journaling is far more accessible than therapy in most cases, they are not interchangeable. In an ideal world, everyone interested in self-care would have a journal for self-guided processing and a therapist for professional guidance.
A therapist will be able to work with you more directly to find out what journaling hygiene will look like for you. Everything I suggest is broad and impersonal. Please keep that in mind.
Building Internal Boundaries
By now, I am sure you know all about setting boundaries with other people. That is absolutely life changing, but you should also be setting boundaries with yourself.
Setting internal boundaries is the perfect way to build self-trust. It literally allows you to believe in yourself. This can look like setting (and keeping) a daily bedtime or staying consistent with your 3 habits. However, there are a ton of ways you can apply boundaries to your journaling practice.
Here are some rules I have used when I noticed that my journaling started to get out of control:
· Set a time limit (stop mid-sentence if you have to)
· Set a page limit
· Space out how often you journal
If you find that these types of boundaries are hard to maintain, it’s time to explore why. Maybe you aren’t getting the satisfaction you’re looking for.
Self-care is More Than Journaling
If you’re trying to chase a feeling with your journal and writing just isn’t giving it to you…babe…writing just isn’t giving it to you.
This goes into my philosophy that you should journal to live well and not the other way around. Self-care absolutely must be more than writing. This doesn’t mean you need to stop writing. It certainly doesn’t mean that you aren’t getting anything from journaling.
Think of it this way. Protein is so important. But if you only eat protein, you’re gonna miss out on a lot of helpful nutrients. If you only care for yourself by writing, you’re gonna miss out on a lot of helpful habits.
Find the sun. Move your body. Take a shower. Eat a snack.
And if that doesn’t work, it’s time to consider professional support from either a therapist or psychiatrist.
You’ll find that doing all of these supporting habits will allow you to write better. You’ll naturally go deeper in your journal when you feel secure.
