Journaling: A Safe Space to Ventilate Your Heart

I'm not a journaling kind of person.

I've been drawn to journaling the least among the prescribed methods for spiritual and personal growth.

I love writing on paper, I connect so much better with my content when I write things out by hand, but it took a little time to write about me.

So for the majority of my life, I haven't practiced journaling.

But things change as we change and evolve.

As a spiritual leader, there are few safe spaces to express my unfiltered feelings and thoughts outside of a therapy session.

I seek and encourage therapy, yet I don't feel it's realistic that we are expected only to express or work out feelings in a therapeutic setting.

Sometimes you want to talk to humans about your issues and concerns, but sometimes, that's unwise and unsafe if you don't have solid, trustworthy people around you.

And for many spiritual leaders and public figures, it is hard to tell who is really for you, so we often bottle up our feelings.

But that can be overwhelming and harmful as a long-term solution.

So I tried journaling. I didn't know what I was doing, but I started writing authentically.

And as I began to write, I started to ask myself questions and challenge myself to express my thoughts and feelings.

I noticed some immediate benefits related to my emotional, mental, and social health.


I first noticed that even though I hadn't spoken to anyone, I felt heard.

Strangely enough, I had a dialogue, even though no one else knew some of the things I shared in my journal.

It proves that the dialogue I was genuinely seeking was internal on some level.

When we talk to others about our feelings, it is a means of processing what is going on internally. The conversation is merely an external means of working the internal dialogue we are struggling to have.

Journaling helps meet a portion of that need.


The second thing I observed was that journaling brought clarity to conversations.

When sharing my feelings with my therapist and a small circle of trusted friends, I wasn't struggling to find the phrasing to express myself.

I had already articulated myself in my journal, so I shared my refined reflections.

I love that when I'm sharing, I'm not guessing or trying to think on my feet, but for the most part, I'm reciting and rephrasing myself.

Sometimes, I would pull up my journal and read a portion verbatim.

I feel genuinely heard. I had clarity about my feelings and thoughts, even if they needed correction or adjustment, because I had done the pre-work of introspection.

Lastly, I love that my journal is always available to listen to as long as I am willing to express myself.

People are not available 24/7, nor do they always have the capacity to deal with and help us process things we are going through.

Our therapists have others patients, and our friends have their life to manage and navigate, so leaning on them is not always an option or even really healthy in the long run.

I can essentially journal anytime I want with very few barriers; I love the accessibility of it all.

Now, hear me out. I am not negating the power of prayer for those from the spiritual community like myself.

I love prayer and expressing my thoughts and feelings to my creator in the safe of His love and grace. I leave my prayer time feeling heard, blessed, and loved.

All I am saying is that there is still natural work that we need to do within ourselves, with the help of God, to work through our experiences, traumas, guilt, shame, feelings, and thoughts, and I think journaling helps with that.

What I'm saying is, don't hold in your feelings.

Just because you don't have a safe space, can't or shouldn't post them, or are not ready for others to hear them doesn't mean you shouldn't express them.

Journal your thoughts and feelings rather than holding them indefinitely.

You'll be surprised by the clarity and release you get from voicing and ventilating your heart and mind in writing, using voice notes, or making a video log.

Sometimes, you only need to share your true feelings before opening up to others.

Be emotionally intimate and vulnerable with yourself first; that's often the most crucial step in healing or being ready to share with others.