477: How to Process Your Emotions (Even When You Don’t Know Where to Start) // Kim Christensen

All of us have hard feelings that need somewhere to go. Frustration, resentment, grief, the kind of low-grade anxiety that just hums underneath everything and never quite resolves — and most of us don't have a reliable way to process any of it. We push through, or we vent to someone who didn't necessarily sign up for it, or we just wait for the feeling to pass on its own. And sometimes it does, but sometimes it doesn't, and it just kind of settles in.

In last week's episode with therapist Eli Harwood, she reminded us that our "stuff" leaks out onto our kids–and the most loving, generous thing we can do for our children is to learn how to process our emotions in healthy way. But the big qustion is HOW?? What actually helps as not just a way to distract yourself from emotions, but real, honest-to-goodness processing — the kind that actually moves something through you and out of you. Of course, therapy is so important for this, and you know I'm a huge advocate for it, but we can't all drop everything on a random Tuesday afternoon and run to therapy every time we have some big feelings come up. We need a way to process our emotions in real time, between therapy sessions or outside of them entirely.

For me, that's where journaling has been helpful. And I know, I know... that word can bring up a lot of feelings, but before you roll your eyes and click away to find another episode that fits you better, I'm asking you to stay with me for just a second.

Maybe you tried journaling once and felt silly. Maybe you think you'd have to be a certain kind of person to do it — someone more reflective or more "writerly" than you are. Maybe the whole idea just feels like one more thing you'd inevitably fall behind on. I hear all of that, and this episode is going to gently address every single one of those objections. And yes, I'll admit, I'm not a neutral party. If you've listened to this podcast for very long, you might know that I've always been a journaler, but it's because it truly has been SO effective in helping me process my emotions and difficult experiences, as well as celebrate my growth and capture the beautiful moments I've experienced throughout my life. I truly believe that journaling is a tool that is accessible to everyone and could help everyone, and that is why I decided to bring back this old episode that originally aired in 2020 with one of my favorite friends and journaling advocates, Kim Christensen.

Kim is a published writer with a master's degree in creative writing from Lesley University. Her work has appeared in Scary Mommy, Elephant Journal, Utah Valley Magazine, and more. She grew up in a blended family of 15 kids — so she learned early that writing was how she could have voice when the room was very, very full. Kim created and sold a journaling company called Loom Journals–and she now helps women write their first books through her mentorship program, Storyheart Studio, and shares book reviews and writing tips with her online community, Talk Wordy to Me. She is warm and practical, and she makes journaling feel completely doable — even if you've never once thought of yourself as a journaler!