“Actually, my dad is so much introverted, he never could express his emotions. Among his daughters, I was more special to him because I look like my grandmother and I came to know about this from his journal.”
Housewife Rezwana Nosin Snigdha was sharing about her father Md Abdur Razzak, retired headmaster of Jhenaigati Model HighSchool, Sherpur.
“When Dad was asked about his journal, he said that he writes down things that he can't easily tell anyone, about life's mistakes, feelings of joy and sorrow. Again, for some reason, he wants us to know his words as well, but in his absence.”
Journaling is a means of communication with one's soul. It often happens that we ourselves do not understand what our subconscious mind wants. The decisions of that moment of not understanding ourselves may make us suffer in the long run.
“When I was newly admitted to the university, I had troubles adjusting with things in the residential dorm. There were often moments when I got angry, but overreacting to that could ruin relationships with many,” shared Fatema Tuz-Zohra, a graduate from the English Department, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.
“I would have taken a little time without instant reaction. I tried to write everything that happened in the ‘Keep Notes’ option on my mobile phone. I tried to understand how much I was responsible there and how much it is reasonable to react. After a while, my mind would calm down a lot.”
Undoubtedly journaling acts as an emotional release or listening ear so your feelings don’t end up in despair. And when you are doing it on your phone, it’s immediately available to you. It can improve your self-talk and self-image.
Sufia Khatun has come to a stage of life when loneliness seems to be her constant companion. In a conversation with the writer, this housewife from Gazipur shared how her lone afternoons pass these days.
“26 years of family life have passed. The children have grown up; each one lives in different places. The afternoon these days often passes in solitude. I read the pages of my old diaries, edit and change few realisations of past memories and write new pages.”
Nevertheless, Sufia enjoys the moments she spends with ‘herself’ only as she adds, “It enriches my life philosophy and helps me realise things. Everyone goes through a lot of experiences in their life. But being experienced is all about self-realisations.”
Many times, we go through various mental-health complications and seek the help of a psychiatrist. But the therapy remains incomplete due to the inability to speak the mind properly.
Farhan Chowdhury (pseudonym), a 3rd-year BUET student of Architecture, had gone through the same.
“I was facing various mental complications from the beginning of university admission. When I started visiting a psychiatrist, at first, I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.”
He was often hesitant or sceptical, even after saying many problems, he would back off from that statement in confusion.
“My psychiatrist then advised me to talk to myself and write it down in my diary,” said Farhan.
Journaling paired with therapy aided in his personal healing and helped him to prepare better for his upcoming sessions.
Journaling is a habit that is not that prevalent among the children of this generation, neither are they familiar and encouraged about its benefits.
While it has many mental health benefits, what else reason do we need to have to start journaling? Eventually, mental peace is all we crave at the end of the day.
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