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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Featured image by Adene Sanchez/Getty Images
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!
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Russell and Nina Westbrook Dish On The Key Ways To Avoid Resentment In Relationships
Russell and Nina Westbrook are one of those low-key, unproblematic couples we don’t talk about enough. They met in college and got married in 2015. They also have a beautiful family with three kids. While Russell is an NBA star, Nina is a licensed family and marriage therapist and a mental health advocate.
She recently launched the podcast The Relationship Chronicles with Nina Westbrook, and in the latest episode, she had none other than her husband on as a guest. The college sweethearts dived into important topics from marriage to children and how they navigate it all.
One of the topics they touched on was dealing with resentment in your relationship. The former MVP highlighted the sacrifices his wife has had to make in order for him to pursue a career in the NBA, and that’s why it’s also important for him to support his wife whenever he can.
“For me is respecting and understanding what your partner do and the time it takes,” Russell said. “Not kind of downplaying what they do, understanding the time and energy and effort they're doing to make sure whether it’s their job or making sure home is taken care of, and understanding that, I think that is the challenge of not being resentful.”
Nina agreed and also shared her thoughts on resentment. According to her, one of the best things couples should do is have their own identity and passions outside of the relationship in an effort to be fulfilled.
“I also think that when you’re in a relationship, that’s why it’s so important that each individual kinda pursue their own passions and follow their own dreams as I feel like it only becomes or leads to resentment when one person is not feeling fulfilled in what they're doing in their lives,” she explained.
“And so, they will start to look at the other partner who’s happy or excelling or promoting or moving along in their journey, then they’re left feeling stuck like they sacrificed themselves, their happiness, their career, their future and have not pursued it in the name of the relationship or their partner. So, it’s so much easier to avoid those feelings of resentment when you’re each equally pursuing your passions.”
The couple has many passions that they work on together and separately. Outside of basketball and his family, Russell has become known for his eclectic style and started the fashion brand Honor The Gift. Nina has her podcast, and she also started the mental health website Bene. Together, they run the Why Not? Foundation, which works with kids in underserved communities.
“I’m a firm believer that one person can’t be everything to you, so you have to sort of seek out those different friendships or groups or hobbies or activities that help to fulfill you,” Nina concluded.
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Feature image by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Religion of Sports
