When I was younger, I journaled quite a bit. It was a way to get out all the feelings I had about how I was treated by my dad, and for that matter, by the rest of my family. It was a great outlet.

I was never really into guided journaling, it was more like a diary. A place to vent, and record events.

I really wish I still had some of those journals. There were a few that had some pretty important entries. Like how I was feeling, and dealing with, the fight my parents had that caused my brother and I to have to live with our aunt and uncle for about a year. The last journal I actually kept was a little over 16 years ago. I know there are entries in there that detailed the last year of my brother’s life. And I know there are entries in there just after his death. Somewhere in the grief that followed, that journal disappeared.

The only journaling I have really done in the last few years is on the notes app on my phone. And that is mostly just venting, complaining, and crying about how I am treated by those around me. There aren’t a whole lot of them, and they don’t happen often. But they are there. They are full of venom, and, if I’m being honest, lots of cussing.

I started this blog a long time ago to give myself an outlet to try to deal with some of my past trauma, and my current drama. It has turned into something else. Something more. It is someplace that I can do those things, but I can also just write, and sometimes, I hope, I can help and inspire others. Writing short stories, writing whatever comes to me, helps me to balance my emotions. Sometimes it is about what has me reeling, but sometimes it is a distraction to recalibrate.

I’m considering returning to journaling. But I need y’alls help. Should I use it like a diary, or try something more guided?

What do you do to recalibrate, to help you center yourself? Do you journal? What is your preferred method, if you do?