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A few years back I was significantly depressed. Every day felt the same and without meaning. Desperate for an outlet, I began to keep a daily journal to remind

A few years back I was significantly depressed. Every day felt the same and without meaning. Desperate for an outlet, I began to keep a daily journal to remind myself that every day, whether good or bad, was a day in my life, and therefore had meaning. The journal itself did not lift me out of depression, but it helped me cope through those dark times. Last year I met someone more dear to my heart than I had ever imagined. Nearly every day since then has been of joyful bliss. However, I was enjoying myself so much that I stopped bothering to record my journals for months at a time. How ironic is it that in this time with so much meaning and so much happiness and shared experience to record, I felt that there was no need to record it, because I was having such a great time. Now I regret not having a reference for us to look back upon. The article may not apply to everyone, but to me, it certainly does.

junko 10y ago
I can most definitely relate to that :) I also kept a small journal (which I was very ashamed of!) when I was depressed, and like you I found that it was helpful as it was at least a small but very free outlet to express what would definitely be difficult to talk about. And I've also recovered :) And like you too, I don't keep a journal so much now, in fact very rarely I'd write in it and come to think of it, it was usually when I was very grumpy that I turned to it. So I can't help but be glad that I don't have much of a journal now. I also feel your conundrum with happy memories, but one thing depression has taught me is to count every "now" moment as a blessing. I've a goldfish memory but I'm very precious about remembering the good emotions, like happiness, peace etc, and that for me is enough. And enough to carry me forward and whack the occasional blues. And anyway, I always find that we inadvertently store memories, be it random phone captures, spontaneous scribbling, reminders of cringey moments by friends and family ... as corny as it sounds, we're all made of our past and we all love to share things. So no need for fomo!
- rm_-rf_slash 10y ago
  Actually I have consistently been updating my journal over the past month after a long hiatus. Things are heater than ever, but keeping a journal helps me keep on track with other things. It's like making your bed and brushing your teeth every morning: if you're consistent with those things, you'll likely make a consistent effort to do more than just coast from day to day.
  - junko 10y ago
    You definitely have more discipline than I have, I could never consider writing as something as consistent as brushing my teeth! Most of the time I'm just stuck, or feel bored with myself. Did I mention that I don't like journals! I think that I will regret it though, just as I sometimes now wish that I've been less photophobic when I was a teen.
  - bind 10y ago
    Can I email you? I'm working on interesting software that does something like this and it'd be great if you could try it.
    - rm_-rf_slash 10y ago
      Yes please! I tried something along those lines but gave up after a while when I got tired of making the app and just stuck with Evernote. Here's the repo for the abandoned project: https://github.com/nikkoschaff/Sumer https://github.com/nikkoschaff/Sumer

junko 10y ago

I can most definitely relate to that :) I also kept a small journal (which I was very ashamed of!) when I was depressed, and like you I found that it was helpful as it was at least a small but very free outlet to express what would definitely be difficult to talk about. And I've also recovered :) And like you too, I don't keep a journal so much now, in fact very rarely I'd write in it and come to think of it, it was usually when I was very grumpy that I turned to it. So I can't help but be glad that I don't have much of a journal now. I also feel your conundrum with happy memories, but one thing depression has taught me is to count every "now" moment as a blessing. I've a goldfish memory but I'm very precious about remembering the good emotions, like happiness, peace etc, and that for me is enough. And enough to carry me forward and whack the occasional blues. And anyway, I always find that we inadvertently store memories, be it random phone captures, spontaneous scribbling, reminders of cringey moments by friends and family ... as corny as it sounds, we're all made of our past and we all love to share things. So no need for fomo!

rm_-rf_slash 10y ago
Actually I have consistently been updating my journal over the past month after a long hiatus. Things are heater than ever, but keeping a journal helps me keep on track with other things. It's like making your bed and brushing your teeth every morning: if you're consistent with those things, you'll likely make a consistent effort to do more than just coast from day to day.
- junko 10y ago
  You definitely have more discipline than I have, I could never consider writing as something as consistent as brushing my teeth! Most of the time I'm just stuck, or feel bored with myself. Did I mention that I don't like journals! I think that I will regret it though, just as I sometimes now wish that I've been less photophobic when I was a teen.
- bind 10y ago
  Can I email you? I'm working on interesting software that does something like this and it'd be great if you could try it.
  - rm_-rf_slash 10y ago
    Yes please! I tried something along those lines but gave up after a while when I got tired of making the app and just stuck with Evernote. Here's the repo for the abandoned project: https://github.com/nikkoschaff/Sumer https://github.com/nikkoschaff/Sumer