Teen Pregnancy: Journaling as a Key to Emotional and Mental Health
Once the shock has passed that you are a pregnant teenager, it is time to move on. Regardless of the decision you make in the nine months for adoption or keeping the baby, you have one goal; to have the healthiest pregnancy possible. There is no longer one to think about, but two. In addition to all the physical changes you will be going through in your teen pregnancy,
your mind will be going a hundred miles an hour with thoughts and ideas. On top of all of that, your emotions will be running wild. One way to make sense of everything going on and to stay centered is to keep a journal. A pregnancy journal (or a teen pregnancy journal) may prove useful in sorting through all the emotions.
It has long been known that journaling can strengthen the immune system, preventing a host of illnesses. You need all the help you can get to stay healthy now that you are expecting. In addition, journaling can counteract many of the negative effects of stress which pregnancy in itself brings on.. Having this research in hand, it is very important to make journaling during your teen pregnancy as vital as the prenatal vitamin.
The last thing you may want to do is to sit down and talk about all your feelings, fears, hopes and apprehension about the upcoming months. However, a journal can really help ease the transition until you are ready to talk to someone. A pregnancy journal can really serve as your road map about important issues that you will be facing. Writing down your thoughts can really help, as far as finding answers and easing your fear. A journal can be your own private counselor to pour your thoughts and emotions into. You never have to show another soul.
Journaling can be defined as a practice of writing or keeping a dairy. Sometimes it is easiest to start journaling during life changing events, like being pregnant. Many women are so satisfied with the positive effects of journaling that they continue on well after the baby is born. Journaling is more than a daily log of events. It is more the opportunity into self exploration. It is the gift of bringing some stability to your current situation, finding your inner strength, and increasing your focus on what is important, clarifies all your thoughts and behaviors, measures and tracks what is really important in life and brings things together for a better understanding.
The next nine months is not going to be easy at all. Being a pregnant teen, you will be subject to some negative people. People you thought were your friends may no longer be around. You may have to get a tutor at school. Your life is going to change. Your body is going to change. Those things you cannot control. However, what you can control is the way you see yourself and having the most positive pregnancy possible.
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Gail Metcalf, an Internet infopreneur and Amy Cummings, a special education teacher, have now joined their creative efforts with Life’s Little Journals