question about journaling

I've always journaled. Sometimes I do it faithfully and sometimes I do it sporadically(spelling?). It has always helped me. I like to journal. But the problem with that is that people think its their right to read it. I once left it on the counter for about 5 minutes and the next thing I know my mom is reading it. She complains that I'm a private person and I am. I hate people reading my journals. Maybe I'm just a private person, maybe too private but I don't like my family reading my journals. I don't like anyone reading them for that matter.
My question is do you keep a written journal or do you keep one on word? I use to keep my journal with me at all times but I found that I kept forgetting to write in it. I have a laptop that has word on it and I've kept my entries on that to some degree. But I don't know whats best. Some people say that its best to write the entry but others say that I should do what I perfer. Does it really matter if I keep it on my computer or on paper?

I don't journal. I have tried and tried. But I always forget. But that's more of a personality thing with me because I do things like you do, sporadically. (Excellent spelling, btw) However, from what others have told me, it doesn't matter how you do it, whether you write in pen or whether you use Word or some other word processor. It's the process of getting your thoughts and feelings "down on paper" that counts.

I guess you've learned that if you leave something laying around, someone is bound to pick it up and read it. It's human curiosity. Especially if the person doesn't know what it is and they innocently pick it up and read it. It doesn't matter if you are a private person. We all are entitled to our private thoughts. But if you don't want people to read them, you probably shouldn't leave them where someone can find them and read them. Therefore, if you decide to put your journal on your computer, you better password the file or the computer. Or someone can easily open it up and read it. What's more, if you're connected to the internet, someone could hack in and your journal could end up on MySpace!

I actually am not keeping a journal but I am writing my history. I have a 16 year old son and there is a lot about my life that he does not know. So, I am writing my history. I am doing it on the computer because I type pretty fast and also because I have some arthritis in my hands and typing is easier for me than holding a pen.

Great question. I hope you get some other answers. I've been told many times that journaling is really important. Lots of great world leaders do it, including Queen Elizabeth.

Keep it on your computer and protect it with a password. If that isn't secure enough for you, you'll have to make up a code for writing about the most sensitive issues in your life.

i'm with you--no one else should read one's journal. i live alone so it's not a problem. i also throw out old journals now and then because for me journaling is usually just a way to get out my negative emotions. i wouldn't want anyone to read what i wrote about them when i was upset!

there aren't any rules as to how to journal. if it works better for you to do it on the computer then that way is just fine. also, as was mentioned you can ensure your privacy with a password. just make sure it's something no one will think of. happy journaling!

By the way, when I said "make up a code," I didn't mean anything too complex. Just rename things. Vegetables make great substitute names, and I've found you can't go wrong with barnyard animals. Whatever you do, have fun with it. Good luck!

That's too funny! I like the barnyard animals! You could really give yourself a chuckle now and then by very careful naming. LOL

hEY,

Another idea is save it to a disc and then hide the "CD" amongest your other CD's or even books.
I find when I journal in writting, I start writting and it's nice but as I remember something scary my writting goes to not able to understand what I wrote because I can't read my own writting.
I think just as long as your getting the good and bad feelings out writting or typing is just as good, I know for me, I don't write everyday but I do type at least once a week.
I just think that getting out those feelings and emotions are so important to healing.
Great Question by the way...ThaCrew

I agree that journaling helps....I also agree that no one should read your journal...

When I journal I like paper and pencil best. I don't have any privacy issues but I do usually journal the same time each day and that way I can keep my journal in a place where I am most often and where it's with all my "stuff" and doesn't necessarily look like a "journal". If you go to school or have other projects, I would keep it with those notebooks or even use a portion of one of those notebooks for your journal. If you keep "special" textbooks or what you're reading, etc. on top and are a bit "messy" it will look like you're "working" and not many people I know are going to paw through all of another person's stuff to get to something?

I love buying my cheap little notebooks for journalling. I love a nice clean sheet of paper to write on. I think it is leftover good feelings about school

I write when I feel like it. I write when I feel I have something to say.
Most often I write when something occurs to me that I think is important but that I might not remember.. you know those thoughts have wings
I also write when I'm feeling intense feelings or I feel overwhelmed, because writing helps me sort out my thoughts and is often relieving. It's like I'm being my own therapist, listening and realling 'hearing' myself.

I agree that it is like being your own therapist...a lot cheaper too....and in the end we all have to solve our own problems anyway....

Yes, this is true, but I love the help my therapy and therapist provide! I love being alone, but this experience with a great therapist is wonderful. It is the best gift I ever gave to myself.

how long have you been in therapy?

Which time?

Why do you ask?

just curious....I have been in therapy since March..

I do my journal as a word document. When it gets to be about 200 pages, I start a new document so I'm not working in such an unwieldy doc. Every 6 months or so I archive them on an external hard drive in case the computer blows up. I used to keep written journals. I like electronic much better. I find they have the same benefit. Sometimes if I am away from my computer and want to write, I do it on a piece of paper and then I copy it into my electronic journal later.

As for privacy, you have to do what you can to keep it from people's eyes. If you leave your journal lying on the counter, I think you are going to have people reading it! Be protective. I do not want people to read my journal and if I did leave it on the counter where a specific person would be very likely to see it, I think that might be my unconscious at work wanting me to share something in that journal with that person, or have them "find out" something that is too scary for me to tell them directly. I'm not saying that is the case with you, but if you leave your journal lying about, I think you are likely to have it read by someone.

I don't think it was right for your mom to read your journal, but behind her words I hear, "you're a private person, I wish we were closer and I knew what was going on with you, I care about you." Maybe there are ways you can be closer to your mom. If you want that--it sounds like she does.

leejones, I have been in therapy for 2 1/2 years this time.

sunny, nice to have the technology to do that. It sounds like it works really well for you.
But you miss out on the variations in handwriting and the doodles

True, and I do love to doodle. But sometimes in my journal I paste in quotes from online resources or photos or artwork that encapsulate a mood. So that is a plus of the electronic format. Like if I enter a poem in my journal, I might search online for an image to match it, or sometimes I search for an image to match an event that happened to me that I am writing about and reflecting on.

I never considered being able to include things like images and poems in an online journal... Great idea!

I like to journal too. Another option, and is something that I use, is to create a blog. Blogspot.com has an easy way to do this, but there are many other sites out there as well. I know on blogspot there is an option to "lock" your blog so that no one else can read it, or they will need a password to or something. This is another option. And I would say, do what works for you.

I have a paper journal that I try to write in daily or semi daily (doesn't always work, lol). I use it a lot to vent. I also keep a public blog which is personal, but not TOO personal. Still, it's good to be able to share some feelings with other people. I find though with both my blog and my paper personal journal that if I'm feeling really down, I just don't write very much and if I do...it's a struggle.