Journaling can be a therapeutic exercise.  In therapy, Johanna may encourage you to journal or keep a diary in a specific way, to raise awareness of specific activities, thoughts, or feelings.  This monthly journal exercise is in no way individually prescribed, but meant to offer food for thought that may be useful for anyone.

January’s monthly journal exercise:

It’s a brand new year.  What are your hopes for the coming year?  Take five minutes to free-write without stopping (unless your hand hurts, or you find yourself in emotionally distress, in which case you should engage in another form of self-care).  Consider what you are looking forward to about 2016, as well as what you might be worrying about.  Write it all down without pausing.  This is not meant to be a polished piece of writing or a list of New Year’s resolutions, but rather an exploration of your hopes and fears as we move into a new year.