hello, I'm adhd, autistic and OCD. when people told me ''just journal'' related to some of my issues with my neurodivergency, I thought it was stupid... but it's not! I've begun my own journal not long ago, and while I did struggle about remembering to write on it the first time, Ive worked on a solution and it's helped me alot. here are the benefits I've seen from it and techniques on how to journal succesfully!!

MY JOURNAL:

This is mine. It's important to note that:
1. I have chosen a small notebook in order not to overwhelm myself
2. stickers and decoration are your best friends. In order to make the journal appealing to write in, I have put stickers and even a keychain on it. this is also KEY!
3. I always keep it SOMEWHERE WHERE I WILL SEE IT. DO NOT KEEP YOUR JOURNAL OUT OF VIEW. I keep it on my daily backpack, because I always open it and the journal is there. you can keep it on any surface that you interact with DAILY.
4. do not see it as a task, see it as something fun. that's why stickers and other motivators are key.

so... how do I begin journaling?

write. I suffer from intrusive thoughts and lots of anger and sadness bottled up, so I use my diary in order to place all of my thoughts with no filter inside them. there's no one to perform for, no one else reading it- so there's no worries in what I write. I write every single awful thought or complaint about the day I have, and then I feel clean and empty because I have stored my negative thoughts somewhere and they are not inside me anymore. I also use it to infodump on my favorite things.
IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE ALL NEGATIVE!!!!
you should write and do happy things in it, too. in my journal I also keep collages, scrapbooking, rants about things I love and drawings. when it comes to art, see it as a blank canvas in which mistakes are allowed and welcomed. it's a TOTAL NEED for the journal to have positive things if you want it to last longer in your shelves. if it has only negative thoughts, your brain might associate the journal with something purely negative, and it is not.



there are some examples of my own collage works and entries colliding with my raw writing! it's imperfect and it's completely fine.

THE BENEFITS... as I said, Ive felt myself get lighter with the mental load I carry sometimes. most of the thoughts that eat at my head are gone and put somewhere else, but also it helps me discuss and contemplate some of my issues and it makes me come with a solution for some sometimes!
I can see what bothers me through a '3rd person perspective' which allows me to solve things much faster.

I also noticed Im being creative everyday. I collage something on it everyday besides just dumping bad thoughts, which has allowed me to be more confident in my art.

it's a little bit of a nightmare to start journaling when you're adhd, but please do try. the end result of this is worth it.