Get yourself a stenographer’s notebook, a diary, a lined journal, or some other notebook. Nothing else goes in this book … it is a record of your journey through grief. Keeping a journal such as this, allows you to look back and see the change and progress you have made, when weeks and months down the road you get hit with the thought that nothing is getting better and that this pain will never end.
It is a tool to remind you what has been helpful to you already, when you get a day where you can’t think of what to do next. In the beginning, this journal may seem like it is just highlighting your pain and does not bring much comfort. The comfort and importance you find in the journal will become evident with time. The journal will help you stay in charge of your grief rather than your grief taking control of you.
Leave a line or two between entries and be sure to record the time and date of each entry. The following are some suggested things to include in your journal:
- A significant event that happened today
- The person who was most important to me today
- Something I found helpful today
- Changes I observe happening to me
- My plans for tomorrow
