I did a thing! Guided journals!
I’ve created a line of guided emotional support journals to help you feel good about yourself and live a life you love. Topics include morning routines, self-love, inner child healing, stress management, body positivity, confidence, self-worth, boundaries, goals, gratitude, mindfulness, mental health, and more. Shop the full line here on Amazon.
Why journals?
Listen. I fell apart in 2021.
Fell. The. Fuck. Apart.
It was worse than when I imploded my world by leaving my two-decade relationship a month after my child almost died in 2018.
2018 Rach was exhausted, overwhelmed, and terrified by the changes, but still had teenagers at home taking up lots of energy. There was no room for a complete breakdown.
2021 Rach was alone and dealing with the ramifications of her own actions.
And it SUCKED.
I was not okay.
I couldn’t have even the simplest conversation without bursting into tears. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t able to eat. I’ve been an emotional eater my whole life, so losing one of my (unhealthy) coping mechanisms was hard. I did I have a healthy coping tool to replace it with.
I was exhausted, but unable to sleep. Work was not getting done. Life was not getting done. I simply wasn’t functional – I was out of order.
I had stopped writing. Writing has always been how I process life, but my pain felt too big to put into words. I felt like I couldn’t blog because so much of the story that was the catalyst to me falling.the.fuck.apart. involved other people. I think I also felt like I didn’t deserve that outlet because I was so deep in self-loathing.
Thankfully, I already had a great therapist. We bumped our therapy sessions up to twice a week via Facetime. Those sessions were all I accomplished some days. My therapist repeatedly told me that was okay and to be gentle with myself.
Random notebooks
She suggested journaling. Not writing about the pain, but instead jotting down things I like about myself, things that make me happy, things I’m grateful for.
In the moments I felt a little better, I’d start one of these lists. Or maybe a to do list. “Brush teeth” and “get out of bed before noon” were big accomplishments.
Then I’d drop back down into the pit. That notebook got misplaced in the wreckage of my unattended to home, so I’d grab a new notebook the next time I had a bit of relief. I had notebooks buried under stuff all over the house with a few lines written on random pages.
The transition to guided journals
I spent hours and hours at a time disassociating in bed or on the couch scrolling TikTok. Something popped up about creating journals to sell on Amazon. I wasn’t in the mindset to start a “side hustle” – getting out of bed was enough of a hustle. But it got my gears going.
I realized I could create what *I* needed to start pulling out of this pit of darkness. And maybe I could help other people do the same.
So I put my educational, professional, and personal experiences to use and created a line of guided emotional support journals!
What makes me qualified to offer emotional support?
- I’m an educator. I teach at the local college. A big part of my role is supporting my students’ emotionally so they can meet their educational goals.
- I’ve been a content creator/blogger/writer for a long time. I love helping people feel inspired and connected.
- I’m a mental health consultant. Even though I was struggling to apply my knowledge to my own emotional crisis, I’ve studied emotions and mental health extensively – both professionally and just as an interest.
- I needed these products myself. These topics were familiar to me because I struggled with them. I knew what it was like to be in the pit. So I created tools to start pulling myself out and got excited to share them with others.
My personal journal routine
I’ve created over 20 journals in the past year. And I really do use them myself! These are the three I currently use daily.
They’ve become a huge part of my morning routine. I keep them in a basket with a pen. As soon as I walk downstairs in the morning, I get a big tumbler of water, grab the basket, and go on the patio to journal. That twenty minutes makes a huge impact on how I feel throughout the rest of my day. My head is lighter and clearer, and I’m able to get more done.
Get your guided journal
Get your journal on Amazon. Stay tuned for an emotional support community, webinars, membership, and more! I’m so excited about healing and growing together!
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tiktok.