JOURNALING-A THERAPEUTIC ART FORM

 My journaling life started at a very young age for me, I was probably 10 when I started and has been an active part of my entire life. but reading back through those older entries, makes me want to laugh out loud at myself. The entries were all about the cute girls in the class and the annoying things my younger two brothers had done to my stuff that day. 

NOT EXPECTED TO DO WELL

I found that as I read these entries how noticeably I had matured almost year by year throughout the years. Spelling mistakes, It is hard to imagine that I made them, looking back from my present age, yet, there they are, written in my own hand. My family members had always been more interested in the various sciences and since Afrikaans, a kind of Dutch was my parent’s first language English was one of those subjects where teachers would not have expected me to be any good at.

A DEPRAVED UPBRINGING BY HEDONISTIC PARENTS

Through my journaling, I got much better in English. Yes, and through having progressed from my Just William boys books, I secretly saved up every nickel, and bought and devoured James Bond books as fast as they landed on the book, stand, “not bad” for a 13 years old kid! There were reams of solid wholesome books appropriate for a teenager to read, so, I’m not claiming a depraved upbringing by a pair of hedonistic parents.

I read them because, ever since reading my very first Bond book, Doctor No, with a well-built bikini-clad lady, Ursula Andress emerging from the sea, at Doctor No’s secret Crab Island depicted on the cover a copy of which was found in my young uncle’Wayne’s bedroom. I was hooked because they were exciting.

 * NOTE: Casino Royale was Ian Flemming’s first Bond novel. 

I understood very little of his feminine conquests and explosive larger than life plots, initially but with a public library full of thesauruses and dictionaries, I rapidly caught on what author Ian Flemming had so eloquently been describing to the readers of his novels. Mistakes were being made all the time and I’m thankful for them because it made me a better writer for it.

THE MOST DEPRESSING TIME IN HISTORY

Currently, there is an alarming increase in the number of people who are afflicted with various mental illnesses. Sadly, depression is one of the most common mental illnesses of our time. I read, only last week that 2019, has been dubbed, “The Most Depressing Time In All Of History.” However, this fact, notwithstanding, journaling and having your thoughts on paper can make you feel a whole lot better about yourself, especially when you focus your writing on the really cool things you have going on in your life, even now! 

JOURNALING PREVENTS ALZHEIMER’S

To conclude, there are many reasons why you should physically pick up a pen and start writing. It helps you increase your eye-hand co-ordination, writing speed, wordsmithing skills, and word-recall capability. And, don’t forget, it’s therapeutic because it helps to reduce stress, it can even help prevent that modern-day scourge, Alzheimer’s.

 So pick up a pen today and keep your thoughts stored away in a journal for reference when you need to check back on interesting past observations, you’ll be amazed at your own progress. and lastly, it is good for your eternal soul.