Journaling About Grief: Helpful Tips for Beginners

So, you have found yourself feeling overcome with grief? Maybe you have lost a loved one, lost a relationship, a pet, a job, or a way of life? I’ve been there. Journaling about grief has really helped me, and it turns out that my journaling has helped others as well because at times I choose to share it. Most of the time, though, it is something I do just for me.

Journaling through grief could be helpful for you, too! In fact, I’m pretty sure that it would be helpful! If you haven’t tried or if you are telling yourself, ‘I’m not a writer,” or you feel like you don’t know how or where to start, then you have come to the right place! I’ve put together some tips to get you started!

Why Should I Journal?

It’s not really a secret, people who have journaled regularly have known the benefits that it brings. Even by spending only a few minutes a day, by writing a list of what you were grateful for that day or jotting down something that made you smile, this quiet focused time brings many benefits. Research has repeatedly shown this. Here are only some of the benefits that journaling brings:

• it can reduce stress and feelings of being overwhelmed!
• it can improve your mood!
• it can improve your immune system!
• it can drop your blood pressure!
• it can help you sleep better!
• it can improve memory!

To be fair, journaling isn’t for everyone, but if you think that it might be helpful to you, if you would like to try, then let’s get started!

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I never thought that I was a journal writer. Many years ago, when we were moving, I was going through the things that I had. In order to move less, I was donating or tossing out unnecessary things. We got to a corner bookshelf that hadn’t really been used in years and my late husband started grabbing the old books to either donate or toss. I suddenly looked in the “toss” box and screamed! There were several journals that I had written in ever since I was a child. “You can’t throw those away,” I told him! “Those are things I’ve written since I was a kid. I want to keep those!”

“And you say that you are not a writer?” he replied while smirking as he hefted the pile of journals out of the garbage box and back onto the shelves.

The truth is, I’ve jotted and written and noted for most of my life, without realizing it until he pointed it out. And I haven’t stopped. After he died, journaling about grief became even more important to me, and I hope that it helps you.

Before you get started, think about your interests, and your own personality. Ask yourself these questions:

• What do I hope to accomplish from journaling? Do you want to clear you mind from thoughts that seem to be stuck in your head? Do you want to find a way to help you see more positive things in your life? Maybe you have stories that need to be told, even if they are never shared!

• How much time do I have for journaling? I think this is where a lot of people get trapped. So many people start with the idea that they have to set up a Pinterest worthy spot in their home with an inspiring, magical view, spending hours in quiet reflection while writing. The truth is, you can decide how much or how little time you want to spend. Take 5 minutes a day, write a couple of times a week or a couple of times a month, there are no “journaling police,” to issue you a citation if you don’t keep up with your initial goal! Maybe the idea of morning pages suits you, maybe you will choose to take a few minutes before going to bed. Find a time of day that seems to work best for you and set a realistic goal for yourself.

• What do I want to write about in my journal? Maybe you want to create a short list of things to be grateful for, or reflect on a bible verse. Maybe you want to write about something that is on your mind, or remember something that happened long ago. Maybe you want to draw a picture or write down something from your dreams.

• What types of journals interest me? There are many different types of journals! Writing journals, dream journals, food journals, travel journals, art journals, prayer journals, junk journals, reading journals, journaling about grief, and more! For this post, I’m going to help you get started by journaling about grief with some specific prompts.

You can put anything into your journal, you could create sections for different things. A section for gratitude lists, a section for prayers or meditations or inspiring quotes. Play around with different topics and ideas to see what works best for you!

Basic Rules of Journaling

• Start small! – Three days a week, once a week, twice a month, start with something realistic for you. Set aside just five minutes. During those five minutes, if you only get one sentence written, you are doing it!

• Have patience – Don’t worry about what you think you are supposed to be writing. This process may feel uncomfortable. Don’t worry about if you are “doing it right” because the truth is that if you are doing it at all, you are doing it right!

• Forget about perfection – Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or how neat your handwriting is or isn’t. There’s no proper word count, no perfect method, and no magical length of time that unlocks the benefits of journaling!

• Be beautifully, brutally honest – We often spend time filtering our ideas before we write them down. Try to write quickly without worrying about what this will mean to anyone else, because it is only for you. You don’t need to be anything but true to yourself. That release is freeing!

• To quote the old Nike slogan, “Just DO It!”

What Do I Need to Start Journaling?

To start all you really need is:

1. Any notebook or paper, or you may choose to journal on a computer!
2. A pen or pencil, unless you are working on a computer!

What Do I Write About?

Ok, let’s get started! You’ve decided to give this a try! Grab a notebook that you have sitting around, open a new document on your computer and let’s DO this!

Come on over to my Facebook Group and I will be posting a different type of journal prompt to help you journal about grief each day for the next week.

You can do one prompt a day, two prompts a week, two prompts a month, whatever you have decided will work best for you.
If you would like to find your own prompts:

HERE are some grief journal prompt ideas, and HERE are some more!

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If you, or someone you care about is dealing with grief, here are some tips for coping with grief from people who are dealing with it themselves!

Our ClassCee Life provides general educational information from someone who has experienced great loss. You should not substitute information on the Our ClassCee Life website for professional advice.