Journaling after separation

[poppymolly]

My original post was ‘Lost’. Husband left 6 weeks ago, leaving me with our 2 children. Two weeks later he was with someone he worked with.

As you can imagine, I feel broken and full of anger, but what iI’m trying hard not to do is text/call him to rant because he’s not interested.

People have suggested journaling, which I’m up for. Has anyone found this useful?

I journal…I’ve always been a diary keeper and I’m (trying to become) a writer so it’s a natural thing for me to do but it helped me massively when I was contemplating leaving my husband and then dealing with it afterwards.

If it’s not something you’ve done before it can feel hard to know how to do it. Hand write it don’t type…the physical act is important. I would recommend a few things:

Treat yourself to a nice notepad and pen - not expensive, just something you like.

Buy a nice candle.

Find some prompts to use rather than just free writing…it will help you get started even if you go off on a tangent. I use oracle cards (I don’t believe in them as such) - I’d highly recommend a set from The Green Witch. I pick a card and there there is a booklet that poses a question. I use them as starting points. Lots on Instagram if you search #journalingprompts too

Ritualise your writing - having a dedicated time to vent your thoughts is important. I preferred night time with low lights then but anything can work. Find a nice space, light your candle and write. When you’re done (I would always do one page), shut up the notebook and blow out the candle.

I’ve never read back my pages but I’ve kept them. You might want to destroy them as part of the process.

Another thing you can do is turn them into blackout poetry - essentially you take a thick black marker to the page and black out everything other than key words. Hard to explain so google it, but it is a half way place between keeping and destroying it.

@trailblazer42
Thank you so much, this sounds amazing! I have ordered a really nice book so will hopefully start in the next couple of days. I like the idea of prompts too!

I’d be interested to know how you find it…I’m looking to train in teaching creative writing and therapeutic journaling is an area I’m interested in.

Just want to say I share your pain, my ex husband also left for a (much younger) co worker. We were together 23 years and I’m completely and utterly psychologically shattered by it.

@GutlessFury
I’m so sorry you’re going through this too xxx