Family Journals: Tens Ways to Improve Your Health and Relationships

Family Journals: Tens Ways to Improve Your
Health and Relationships
by Ron Huxley

Journaling has long been a tool to achieving better
emotional and mental health. The need to express oneself
in a safe and controlled manner is a powerful means to
improving self-esteem and personal relationships. Parents
can use this tool to increase their effectiveness and
satisfaction with family members. Here are ten ways that a
journal will help parents:

1. Tell your family story. What better way to immortalize
your life than to write about it in a journal? You can create a
memoir of your life growing up, describe the many branches
on your family tree, or just make a scrapbook of your life.
Children can benefit by learning their family history and
discover whom they are in relation to past generations.
Parents will find clues to family dysfunction and strengths
by exploring their familial history.

2. Share yourself with family members. Most people keep
their journals private but choosing a sister or child to share
a journal with can close the gap on distant relationships or
bring close ones even closer. Swap separate journals for
family members to read, keep a family journal that is free
for all to read and write, or create a journal to express
thoughts, feelings, and dreams with a particular family
member.

3. Organize yourself...emotionally and spiritually. Whenever
I go to the store, I make a list. If I don't I am sure to forget
something. Probably a few "something's". Writing things
down helps me recall what I need to buy. Journaling will
help you remember the emotional and spiritual items you
need in your life. Some of this items you may not have
known you needed and others will be one's that you know
you need but haven't had the courage to go out there and
get it. Journaling is the first step in that spiritual grocery
store shopping.

4. Track your emotions, moods, and experiences over time.
Monday was a high-energy day. Tuesday, I felt depressed
and lethargic. Wednesday, I started to climb out of it.
Thursday, I felt better but had difficulty focusing. You get
the picture, right? Journals will help you map the highs and
lows of your week, month, or year so that you can plan your
life accordingly. What mood ring can do that for you?

5. Unburden yourself and let go of old hurts. You've carried
that old emotional baggage for how many years now? Isn't it
time to let it go and move forward feeling a little lighter on
the emotional load. You can let go of the hurts and fears
you inherited from childhood that have clung to you through
adulthood and affected all of your important relationships.
Release them into a journal and really live life to the fullest.
Because you are anonymous, this is your opportunity to
say it all and unburden yourself so that you can have freer,
more productive relationships with your family instead of
venting it all at them.

6. Clarify and achieve your dreams, goals, and aspirations.
Any successful life planner, motivational speaker, or
therapist will tell you that in order to achieve a goal or
dream you must write it down. Journals are a great way to
realizing that goal or dream. While the path of life and
relationships seems confusing and chaotic, a look back,
into your journal, will reveal some very clear patterns that
will help you in your future journeying.

7. Share your wisdom (life experiences) with others. I may
not be an expert on life but I have had my share of
successes and failures. So have you. Together we can
learn and grow more than either of us could have done
alone. Use journals to write down your mistakes so your
children do not make the same ones or share a few tips
about life that you wish your parents had shared with you.
It's not too late.

8. Glimpse the world through the eyes of another person.
Journals allow you to see life from the perspective of
another’s culture, geography, beliefs, age, and gender.
Take a trip around the world or through time simply by
reading a family journal. Ask family members to describe
you or your childhood. You may be surprised by what you
learn when others look at you and your life.

9. Challenge your beliefs and enrich your life. Master
therapists tell us that in order to change your life you must
change your thoughts or beliefs. Doing this on your own is
difficult if not impossible. Journals are a great way to
analyze those thoughts that get in the way of good mental
health and better family relationships.

10. Realize you are not alone! Have you had a loved one
pass away? Suffered a divorce or financial loss? Had a
prodigal child leave home? Anyone who has suffered a loss
or felt the weight of depression knows how lonely that can
be. It feels like no one could possibly understand the pain
you feel. Family Journals remind you that you are never
alone and that hope is just one entry away!

Click here to learn about Ron Huxley's
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more of his expert advice on parenting,
anger management, and other mental
health issues.

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