I do it's a way for me to "get it all out" but I usually don't leave mine up for more then a day or so...

I journal every night. Not so much about the ex now. More about what I do daily to keep this farm and the life I love.

It does help to journal and leave it on here. It's like I get up the next morning with a clean slate to start over again. You can go back and read old journals and realize how far you have changed from the first day you started writing.

When I was going through the initial pain and confusion, I wrote often. I wrote about the marriage, I wrote how I felt now, I wrote gratitude pieces, even a gratitude prayer for the lousy marriage! It helped enormously.

One day I really did not need it any more--nor did I want all that lying around. I was able to toss it all saying that part of my life is now behind me.

I journal from time to time on DS. I usually find by the end of the writing, I am feeling so much better.

I tend to journal when I have the time and find it very therapeutic. I think it also helps my friends here gain greater insight into who I am. I haven't had the time to devote myself to it as much the past few days, but I think it's helped me greatly.

yes and yes. It helps me organize my thoughts and clear my head and move forward. And I can also look back and see how much I've changed. I highly recommend it, but it can take some getting used to inorder to see how it works. Give it a try.

Cindy, I know a person who journalled and it wrecked a good romance. the guy googled her, found ds, and read her journals.

DS journals are not really private. they are public information.

are you sure you want to publicize your private thoughts?

Journalling can be very good to get out things that you might want to say to your ex (but know actually sending it to them lead to an arguement and it's not worth that), or just an opportunity to give yourself encouragement. When I first went through my split, I had so many emotions about her, the way it happened, whether my actiosn played a role, about my son and his feelings, adn knew that emailing all of that to her would be jsut wasted energy, but it was good to type it all out, and then read it a day or two later and see how I had processed some of those emotions/feelings, or what I still needed to work on.

I didn't post mine here on DS- I type them as emails to myself, and that way I could read them in my inbox and just delete them when I wanted.

Cindy, you can lock down your journal to be viewed as private or public...you can lock it down so that only your "friends" -- people you've accepted as friends on DS -- can read your journal.

I do journal here and allow only my "friends" to see it. I don't journal regularly these days as I'm spending more time on the board. But I have journaled during very difficult times when I've needed to just get "stuff" out of my head and heart. It can be very therapeutic as it helps to externalize those things that are internal -- it can help you to put into words those things that are eating you from the inside out. And sometimes, that can lead to better clarity and understanding. Also, having my friends read my journal entries and comment on them also helps me to feel supported. They often offer words of encouragement or sometimes offer words to ponder, which helps me through this journey.

I recommend it but certainly support locking it down for only "friends" to read, or making it private entirely only for you. It does not have to be public.

I journal almost every day. Most of them are "only available to friends" so I have no worried about the open internet having access to them. Whey I type something very personal I lock it down so that no-one but myself can see it.

I found it invaluable for putting my thoughts down and getting feedback from various different people (for the ones open to friends)

I started journalling here on DS when I joined. Most of them are private and just for myself. I use it to keep track of my thoughts, get things out, to look back at later and cheer myself up, a lot of things. It's my first time ever really journalling seriously and I have found that it has helped a lot. I have always had a lot of thoughts swimming around and getting confused but never thought of a way to organize them. Journalling has really helped my to sort everything out and cut down some anxiety. I journal whenever I feel I need to.

I have never been able to routinely journal, here or even on paper.

I find it easier to journal when I am down and struggling with something. It helps me get the thoughts out of my mind faster and ease my pain a bit.

For me it gets all the stuff out of my mind, I literally feel better when I am done, it's amazing.
I don't journal publicly on the sight but fill up notebooks every week...I recommend it highly.

I journal when things are not going well for me, or when I can't figure out why I am sad. I think it helps. Like others, some journals are only for friends others are more public. I do not write what I do not want known. I think it helps me alot! For example you read about me wanting a kitten. I have had so many positive comments I am going to really look in to finding a kitten. I think some journaling is good. I am not good enough at it to do it regular, but I would like to get to a point where I journal not about the rough times but the GOOD times!!So that is why I journal. Sometimes I think of my journaling as if I am writing a letter to a pen pal. Not sure if this helps you at all.

I keeps a journal privately. I've gone through two and am working on a third, since the separation. I've been journaling on and off for thirteen years almost. I do it to remember, and because I wish my predecessors would have done the same so that I could know them better. I figure after I die my relatives will find them and learn that I was insane.

Hi Cindy,

I can't speak to journaling on DS -- a little too public for me, I think, but it sounds like it works well for many. I CAN say that I believe writing out your feelings and experiences is an incredibly powerful way to find the value in every experience, no matter how painful. You might find ideas or encouragement at my blog:
http://alphabetcircus.com/

If you visit, please comment -- I'd love to hear your thoughts!