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Why Keeping Two Journals May Be A Good Idea

We talk about the importance of keeping a journal a lot on here. It can help you get your emotions and feelings out in a healthy manner. Journaling can be very beneficial to people with a mental or emotional disorder. With a journal, you are able to see how far you’ve come and all the ways that you have changed. You can learn to pinpoint your triggers and work out solutions to certain problems you may be facing all by keeping a journal. The benefits are endless.

Most people tend to journal when they are feeling down, angry, or hurt. I know I have been guilty of doing this in the past, but it is important to try to journal when you are feeling well too. This is because you get to see how you are doing when you are feeling happy or positive. You get to know your baseline or, in some instances, you get to see how you are when you are manic or hypomanic.

A majority of us only keep one journal and fill it with both negatives and positives. Not many of us even consider keeping more than one journal to write in. However, there may be some positive benefits in keeping two separate journals. One to document your lows, and one to write out when you are at baseline and feeling well. Someone had mentioned this idea to me and a light bulb went off.

If you keep two journals, some of the benefits can include:

• Being able to look back on your lows when you are feeling well to help you learn your triggers more efficiently than keeping one journal.
• You can read your “well” journal when you are feeling low, and it can help you realize that you are just in an “episode” right now and that things will be okay in the end.
• You can see the things that you have overcome from a better perspective.
• It can better assist you when you are working out problems.
• When you need a little boost of confidence, you can look at and find your good moments much easier.

Those are only a few of the benefits of keeping two journals. The key to doing this is persistence. You can learn to write when you are well, and not just when you are feeling down. It can help bring more positivity to your life.

You can fill your “well” journal with more than thoughts. You can add quotes, pictures, or anything that makes you feel happy. It may give you more fuel to overcome a low when you are looking at all the good in your life.