This Is Your Sign To Start Audio Journaling
Diaries, journals, and personal notebooks have always had a way of keeping our deepest and purest insight safely protected. From a young age, many of us learn the value of having a go-to place where we can give our thoughts, dreams, heartbreaks, and goals a home to live and reflect on as time passes. But as the act of “oversharing” had crept its way into a normalized form of expression, the art of privacy and venting with discretion is in need of a makeover.
Thankfully, people are now tapping into a new way to vent without tweeting or sending subliminal messages through memes — enter audio journaling.
What Is Audio Journaling?
Audio journaling is a form of self-expression and self-reflection where individuals record their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and insights using audio recordings. This alternative to traditional written journaling allows individuals to capture the train of thought of their ideas, emotions, and experiences by simply pressing ‘record’ on their phones. And from the looks of it, the internet is catching on.
The trend itself had reached over 2.8 billion views on TikTok, making audio journaling the best — and most efficient — way to get your thoughts out of your mind and into a digital keepsake.
Is Audio Journaling Effective?
With one benefit of voice journaling serving as therapy on the go, many audio diary keepers are finding that the flow of talking their thoughts out comes with more ease than jotting them down in a notebook. This form of verbal emoting can contribute to one’s personal growth, heightened self-awareness, and overall sense of clarity.
When we speak out loud about our inner thoughts and emotions, it can serve as a form of catharsis, helping us to release pent-up feelings, reduce stress, and provide a sense of comfort and relief.
Audio Journaling vs. Writing
Many people may find that when writing, our thoughts can move faster than our pen can keep up with, which makes these recordings a more efficient way to process your inner monologue or even prevent a downward spiral before it can take form.
Reaching for your recorder before grabbing a pen and paper also allows you to document your creative sparks and ideas before a distraction pulls you away from them. When we verbalize our thoughts, we’re helping ourselves process complex concepts and gain insights that we might not have discovered through traditional journaling. Our words allow us to connect the dots and can even lead to "a-ha" moments for expansion.
Not to mention, audio journaling encourages us to be in the present moment as we articulate our thoughts. This mindfulness can help you cultivate a greater sense of awareness and improve your ability to focus and take a moment to check in with yourself during life’s most stressful and busy moments.
If you’re looking to try audio journaling, here are a few things to consider.
How Do You Make an Audio Journal?
Say It With Your Chest:
The beauty of audio journaling is that there’s no need to filter yourself. Your tone, your emotional state, and your passion all matter when verbalizing your thoughts, so don’t hold back. This is your space to be as open and honest as you’d like to be with yourself. Speak freely, and don’t worry about saying everything perfectly. Just allow you and your thoughts to flow.
Listen, Learn, Reflect:
Remember, these recordings are there to be a source of insight into your personal thoughts and ideas. Be sure to check in to your previous recordings from time to time, as they can provide valuable insights into your thought patterns, emotional growth, and progress over time. Learn from your past and present self.
Press Record:
Sometimes, it can be intimidating to start a new self-care practice because we might feel like we need to have the “perfect” setup in order to get started. But with audio journaling, your thoughts — no matter where or how they happen — is the perfect starting place. All you have to do is hit record.
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Aley Arion is a writer and digital storyteller from the South, currently living in sunny Los Angeles. Her site, yagirlaley.com, serves as a digital diary to document personal essays, cultural commentary, and her insights into the Black Millennial experience. Follow her at @yagirlaley on all platforms!
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Stress Awareness Month: Sneaky Workplace Triggers Affecting Black Women, And How To Cope
We all know about the major stress triggers of everyday life, from relationship woes to monthly bills to unexpected emergencies, but there are small, subtle triggers that impact Black women in a big way, especially when it comes to work. It’s good to be aware of these sneaky stressors in order to maximize your day and find ways to incorporate solutions into your self-care routines.
Since it’s Stress Awareness Month, we caught up with Keanne Owens, LCSW, founder of Journey To Harmony Therapy Center, to talk about these triggers and what Black women can do to manage and cope.
Owens is an experienced South Florida-based counselor and social worker who offers her services via Grow Therapy, a therapy and medication management platform. She has worked with Black women professionals to unpack issues related to workplace stressors. “One is the pressure to perform–having to meet deadlines and deliverables. And a lot of times, these subtle stressors from performance are put upon ourselves as Black women. We want to make sure we’re doing our best. We don’t want to be critiqued in certain ways.”
Excessive micromanagement leading to fear of overly critical bosses is another subtle trigger that can negatively impact Black women in the workplace.
“Whenever something is done wrong, or we experience some type of injustice and have to report it, it’s the fear of retaliation–[fear that] we won’t be taken seriously or [our words] will be taken out of context because of being deemed as the ‘angry Black woman,’” she said.
Black Women And Workplace Stress Triggers
Her sentiments are backed by research. A recent report by Coqual found that 28% of Black women (compared to 17% of White men) say their supervisor uses “excessive control or attention to detail” when managing them. There’s more: A survey by the National Employment Law Project found that Black workers were “more likely to have concerns (80 percent) and twice as likely as white workers (18 percent) to have unresolved concerns at work, with 39 percent reporting they were “not satisfied with the employer’s response or did not raise concerns for fear of retaliation.”
The survey also found that 14 percent of Black respondents said they “avoided raising concerns to their employer for fear of retaliation—more than twice the average rate of 6 percent for all survey respondents.”
Owens pointed to the fact that these subtle stress triggers can negatively impact our physical health and our career advancement. “A lot of time it’ll affect our productivity,” Owens added. “We start to have negative thoughts of ourselves. The stressors can also cause fatigue. We’re no longer meeting or working up to our desired potential.” Other challenges as a result include insomnia and increased insolation, withdrawal, and lack of motivation to apply for jobs or promotions even when qualified.
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How To Manage Subtle Stress Triggers
While there are systemic issues at play for Black women at work that has less to do with us and more to do with major overhauls that must be addressed by the powers that be, there are steps we can take for the betterment of ourselves and our mental health. Owens offered the following tips:
Tap into a support system, whether it’s a coworker you trust, a family member, an organization, or an outlet like a hobby.
Create a good work-life balance before burnout even starts. “Having certain boundaries [is the goal] such as, for example, if you get off at 5, you get off at 5. If your job description is this, you don’t go above and beyond because that brings you to a lot of burnout,” Owens said.
Prioritize self-care, whatever that means for you. “If you don’t have a routine, create one. Practice mindfulness and even some meditation,” she added.
Create structure in your life outside of work. “Even if you have a family, applying some structure in your routine helps relieve stress,” she said.
Get into grounding techniques. “Do a real quick square breathing exercise, that’s literally 30 seconds, or you can do a grounding technique that’s less than two minutes, right there where you are. You don’t need any other materials. That’s something you can do with just yourself and your body.”
Ask for help. “As Black women, we don’t ask for help enough,” she said. “Find where you need to ask for help. A lot of times, people think that’s indicative of weakness, but we need to rewrite that narrative. It’s okay to ask for help where you see fit. [If] you’re a mom, [it could be] every Wednesday from 5 to 6, your children are with the dad. You have to carve out that time.”
For more information on Grow Therapy, visit their website. You can also find out more about Keanne Owens, LCSW, via BeginYourJourneyToHarmony.com.
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