Scrapbook Journaling: Cutting out Feelings (Journaling is Cheaper than Therapy: Part 3)

Scrapbook while you journal? It may be a little less intimidating for some of you than writing a journal. 'Cutting out feelings' - doesn't that sound like fun?

Scrapbooking joined with journaling can be more fun than you can imagine! Even a scrapbook that has nothing to do with depression can be fun therapy for you.

We have been chatting about journaling and the benefits for depression. I have cited several articles on the subject. For those of you who enjoy research, an even more in-depth scientific article called ‘Emotional and Physical Health Benefits of Expressive Writing’.

But for those of you who are tired of the serious aspects of this subject and wish it could be made to sound like a bit more fun, I will refer you to my sister’s blog. She has a creative way of journaling which just might make it more appealing for some of you! She combines scrapbooking with journaling.
SCRAPBOOKS ARE NOT FULL OF SCRAPS

I think the implication of the name 'scrapbooks' is totally wrong. The name might indicate that it is a book full of unimportant stuff, but quite the opposite.

Just thinking about what you might want to put in your scrapbook could be therapeutic. The stuff you put in doesn't have to have anything to do with depression in order to be therapeutic. How about some paint chips for the paint store that you might like. Or pictures off of the internet of a neat house for sale or a favourite outfit. How about cutting pictures out of a tool catalogue. Maybe recipes off the internet? Or inspiration sayings off the internet. There are some pretty ones if you press 'image'. I could go on and on.

I even found someone at DIYHappy who made their own journal from a cereal box - check it out! You could call it a 'scrapbook journal'.

JOURNALING IS GOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN

If you're still not convinced that journaling can help, you might want to check out a site called “The Way Our Minds Work”. There's all sorts of neat stuff here about the brain, but the bottom line is that we cannot reflect and act at the same time and so that means, when we journal or write, we are no longer reflecting but acting.

Reflecting too much is makes us sick.

Journaling is not reflecting, it is acting.

Reflecting is passive, journaling is active.

Passive turns you inward. Active turns you outward.

Self-expression is good for you!

This is one of the reasons I am blogging for depression. Writing is good for me. It gets me out of myself. It gets me out of my thoughts. Sure, I am always thinking about what I can write about, but those thoughts are not the ones that make me sick.

I am going somewhere with this, believe me! I have something special I would like to share with you next time.

WHAT ABOUT ME? Have I ever tried scrapbook journaling? Not exactly. I've never done any scrapbooking since depression became part of my life. But I am going to try now that I have researched it all. But when I was a young teenager, I had a big crush on pop singer Cliff Richards. (I know, I'm old!). My best friend and I made scrapbooks from all of the stuff we could find about him in the magazines. I loved that scrapbook. It was fun to look at the pictures over and over. It was fun to make since I am in fact crafty. And it was a real keepsake about a special time in my life. The next time I started scrapbooking was thirty years later. It was a gardening scrapbook. I put in pictures of my dream gardens, glued in the empty seed packets for each years gardens and made notes on successes and failures. 

WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling? If the idea of journaling feels like too much for you, you could just start simple with a list and maybe expand into a little scrapbook? Even creating a scrapbook that has nothing to do with your feelings can be therapeutic. Cut out pictures instead of writing out words? Think about it.

Don't give up! You are not alone. I'm praying for you. There is hope for depression.