People often feel intimidated by the thought of journaling because they think they are not good writers. Perhaps they have bad memories of papers and English classes with red pen marks pointing out every mistake. But journaling is not about “good” writing. Or grammar. Or punctuation. Or spelling. Or any of that. Simply put, it’s about putting the thoughts in your head onto paper. Doing so helps you process and make some sense of them. In short, you are doing it for you, not for anyone else to read and critique.

Why is journaling helpful? Writing/journaling can:
· be a healthy outlet for processing painful feelings and emotions, especially for those who may not have a great deal of support from their family and friends.
· provide a permanent record of your experiences. You may think you will never forget certain feelings and times, but they do tend to fade.
· help you focus on and clarify what your real needs are while you are mourning, healing, and trying to make plans for your future.
· enable you to “talk” about things you really do not have the energy to talk about.
· help you find ways to have a meaningful ongoing relationship with your baby.
· helps you sleep better if you write at night before bed.
Additionally:
· Reading through the past things you have written can help you see how far you have come and can be healing. As time goes by, you may think you are not progressing at all, yet when you go back and read your journal, you can have more clarity into just how far you have come. Do not go back and read what you have written too soon, though, as you may be tempted to delete and change what you wrote.
· Writing out your emotions has been proven by research to lower stress, depression, and anxiety.

When you are deeply grieving, your thoughts and emotions can feel scattered all over the place. They can be hard to wrap your mind around and make sense of. When you sit down to write, while your mind and thoughts may wander, getting them out in a visible form can help you make sense of them. It can help you whittle them down to what might really be going on in your heart. It can help you put them in perspective. It is common to start writing about one thing only to be surprised by what you end up writing. This is normal and to be expected. If you want to start journaling but are unsure where to begin, I hope I have inspired you to just begin! There are no rules, and the things you write do not have to make sense to anyone but you. You may want to start journaling to try to make sense of your grief, but you may end up gaining more benefits and learning more about yourself than you imagined. Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support has more information about journaling as well as a journaling kit. If you would like to learn more, please contact Rose at rcarlson@nationalshare.org.