5 Mar 2015

do you journal or keep a diary?

A Hong Kong journal - in a Paper Republic notebook. On the bottom - my current journal by Martha Stewart x Avery x Staples. I originally wrote the month and year I started this journal on the spine but this was quickly replaced by a Dymo label.
Writing in my journal is something I try and do at least once a week and I use it as a means to 'brain-dump' negative thoughts, to remember things and just as a release. Life as a graduate student isn't easy - there are money issues, social life issues, life issues and just many, many other issues that I could never have predicted.

Brain dumping also ensures that some memories won't be forgotten in the future - I found myself reading my diary from when I was 16 earlier this week and I did have a laugh at how silly some 'issues' I wrote about were but that's the beauty of keeping a diary. We can look back and realise that those big issues weren't so big after all - hindsight is a wonderful thing!

My journal is also a place where I put in cinema tickets and other tickets collected from memorable events that I went to with friends. These ticket stubs would just become clutter and would otherwise end up in the bin if I didn't stick them down somewhere meaningful.


For me, journaling gives me that hour or two a week where I can purely focus on myself. It's a time that I dedicate to myself and my mind - I'm the type who can get emotionally caught up on things if I'm not careful and being a medical student, that isn't the best frame of mind to be in. I think that learning not to get too attached to patients will come with experience and I don't necessarily think that the way I am now is a problem - but it does mean that I can end up emotionally exhausted if I'm not careful. And my way to combat that is to take a step back from it all and journal.

Do you journal or keep a diary? Do you enjoy it or do you see it as a chore?

Just a sidenote: I never refer to patients in my journal by their name and I never write anything down that can make them easily identifiable.

13 comments

  1. I love keeping a journal/diary. During chemo, it was especially helpful just to get out all the anger I felt but couldn't really express. For example, I was really angry that my friends weren't sick. I couldn't really tell them how I felt (that would be rude) but I could write about how unfair life is and have a good pout in my journal. It allowed me to feel my anger but also behave like a normal and not bitter human being.

    I've been able to go back and reference that diary while I've been writing my survival guide. It's been 4 years and I'm surprised at how much I've forgotten about what I needed then. When I mentor new patients, I encourage them to keep a diary, virtual or not. They don't have to read it later but it helps to let your inner 3-year-old pout "it's not fair!" I would also mark down who gave me what gift and some of the things I was thankful for.

    My journal helped me to have a sense of balance. I was going through an awful time but there were moments of goodness in there, too.

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    1. Your reasons for keeping a journal are amazing and I love how you're using your journals to help write a survival guide. It's such a selfless thing to do and much respect to you for turning what was probably quite a dark time in your life into something positive! :) Let me know if you publish your survival guide as it will undoubtedly help me gain a better insight into a patient's POV :) x

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  2. I absolutely love journaling ! I've been journaling and writing in a diary for as long as I can remember, and thankfully, having some hoarder instincts, I have my diaries even from when I was just a kid ! Now I have them lined up in chronological order in boxes in my closets ! I think it's super cool that I've been able to keep them for so long !

    Also do those Dymo labels stay on? I think I'm going to start labeling my as well. Currently I'd have to flip through them to find out the time frame. Thanks !
    Glad to know other people are still journaling and writing in diaries as well !

    Angel
    www.speakoftheangel.com

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    1. That's amazing - to have kept all your diaries from years ago! Imagine looking back on all your journals thirty years from now - how amazing would that sight be.

      My Dymo labels have held up pretty well so far - my oldest one is three years old and it's still stuck on pretty firmly. I tried peeling it off and it's fairly resilient :) x

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  3. I absolutely love journaling ! I've been journaling and writing in a diary for as long as I can remember, and thankfully, having some hoarder instincts, I have my diaries even from when I was just a kid ! Now I have them lined up in chronological order in boxes in my closets ! I think it's super cool that I've been able to keep them for so long !

    Also do those Dymo labels stay on? I think I'm going to start labeling my as well. Currently I'd have to flip through them to find out the time frame. Thanks !
    Glad to know other people are still journaling and writing in diaries as well !

    Angel
    www.speakoftheangel.com

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  4. I have to keep a journal. I've tried to not - and it just doesn't work. Writing everything out just lets it out of my head...so I'm not thinking about it nearly as much. And sometimes, that's all I need to feel better.

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    1. I agree - writing everything down allows venting in a more appropriate setting so that we can be better people when interacting with others! :) x

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  5. I keep a journal now after a few years of not keeping one. I use it to document different events and for my morning pages. I really like the idea of keeping a travel journal -- I will do that next time I travel. :)

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    1. It was really fun making my travel journal :) although the photo quality isn't brilliant, it didn't matter as my memories were still captured in some way, shape or form with my poor quality photographs and notes alongside them :) x

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  6. I didn't know there was a difference.. lol. um... all I know is that I love writing my thoughts down somewhere every week. I had time to write everyday but now it has turned into once a week ritual. :)

    xoxo
    -Jemima

    bakytgul.blogspot.com

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    1. Personally, I don't think there is a difference as there's a lot of overlap (in my opinion)! :) It's nice to have some 'me-time' isn't it :) x

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  7. I've been writing a journal on my laptop since 2004. Since getting ill eighteen months ago, I decided to keep a hand-written journal, which I write a page in a night before I go to sleep, just documenting how I feel and how I find ways to cope. I find writing very helpful. I think I'd be lost without all my writing outlets :)

    By the way, I really love your blog. I only recently found it but it's definitely my favourite :)

    -- Ys // www.alightson.still-sharpe.com

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    1. I agree - writing things down (even our deepest and darkest thoughts) can make us feel better and relieve any stress or pressure that could potentially build up and bring us to breaking point :)

      Thank you for your lovely comment! x

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