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Penning down your thoughts

Perhaps come out the best in the pages of your private diary, writes S.AISHWARYA

PHOTO: M. MOORTHY

HEALTHY HABIT Diary writing is considered a therapy

When Anne Frank recorded her toughest moments in life, little did she know that it would not only touch the hearts of millions but also work as an inspiration for several future diary writers. Not a new phenomenon though, diary writing tends to revive its seasonal significance at the start of every year.

Stress buster

This year is no different either. Most diarists feel the habit is the best stress-buster as it helps purging the day's thoughts from the mind.

"It is just a matter of habit, which many haven't tried out. Once you get into it, you will love it," says author-journalist Prema Nandakumar. A diary-writer for over four decades, Dr. Nandakumar feels the habit could help avert the writer's block. Many a times, it had helped her while working on fiction or an article. "It's been of great help. Never once I stared at the blank paper for minutes, not knowing where to start."

Be it reflecting past or contemplating future, diary could come in handy on most occasions.

Thought process will be so fast that one tends to forget it in matter of seconds, says D. Saminathan, a consultant psychiatrist. "You get to know your priorities when you write them down. Planning ahead is all about writing things down," he says.

Diary-keeping is one of the therapies in psychiatry, he says. But over-doing it might backfire, he warns. "We advise our patients to write down the day's happenings for not more than 20 minutes. Getting too much into sub-conscious state is not advisable," he says.

But he is quick to add: "It is the best way to express anger. Write about things that annoy you and tear off the paper. It really helps," he says.

At the best, it can change your life, as it did for two of his patients. They were planning their divorce when they approached Dr. Saminathan for counselling. He made them read the letters sent to each other before marriage and exchange their journals. "It worked and it was more a self-counselling for them. My job then was only to make sure their marriage sustained," he recalls. The benefits don't stop with that. Diary writing can be a health habit too. Says Priyanjali Anand, who runs a beauty salon: "Maintaining a health diary will have a check on your weight. When you write down every bit that you nibble on a single day, you will know where the problem lies. After a month, the name of at least one particular calorie-rich item will hit you frequently, telling you to cut down on those," she says.

But recording personal data is not always all that personal, says Leena Ghosh, a software engineer. Her diary-writing habit came to a brief halt when she was in college. It has resurrected this year.

College days, she says, are too personal to even record in a diary. She found herself insecure at home and carried the journal all the time, until the pressure was too much to stand. "It didn't actually relieve me from stress. It added a little more. But now that I'm living alone, I'm back with my diary and pen," she smiles.

Sustain interest

For youngsters, the amount of private space it offers is enough to sustain their interest. Be it a habitual diary writer or a person averse to the very idea, one can hardly resist making the impulsive buy. Diaries come in all shapes and sizes - from palm-size planners to heavy journals for extensive writing.

The designs have come in handy for all profession, from a diary with mini almanac carrying auspicious time to the one with S. I. Unit conversion.

"It's hard to find people buying diaries for their own use. They gift-wrap them to present it and that's what keeps our sale going," says John Bosco, the store-in-charge of Odyssey.

If Bridget Jones diary was all about her teenage saga, yours can be on the telly soaps that you watch or on your adventure trips or on anything that urges you to hold the pen.

After all, it's a space entirely for you, waiting to listen to your swanks and cribs.

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