Therapists always recommend journalling for one simple reason — it helps people become more aware of their thoughts on a daily basis which eventually aids the process of therapy. Journalling is not new, and neither is us pouring our hearts out to some confidant of ours at the end of the day. What is human without communication? Expressing is the basis of our existence. Aristotle considered thought as essential to the understanding of human nature. Sigmund Freud suggested that repression of thoughts can also have physical symptoms associated with it such as high blood pressure, skin conditions, fatigue, obesity, headache, dizziness and pain in back, neck, chest and abdominal area. He conceived the human brain as similar to an iceberg. The top of the iceberg is the conscious mind, the part of the iceberg which is submerged in the water is the preconscious mind and the rest of the iceberg which is deep into the water and is not visible is the unconscious. Our everyday thoughts, reactions and how we behave do not exist in isolation with each other or with our conscious at different layers. Freud believed that the unconscious mind can have an impact on our overall personality and can potentially cause psychological distress. Hence, therapists usually suggest to journal what we go through everyday so that they can identify patterns and help us understand ourselves better. While the benefits of journalling are already well-established, what if you are able to record yourself in the form which is a bit closer to how you feel? The audio, your own voice.
Audio journalling is also not new since the time people could get a hang of recording oneself through a cassette or a phone’s in-built recorder. And along with journalling, this has a unique advantage of its form — raw emotions being captured though one’s voice. One social media user on Reddit who does audio journalling writes, “It’s like a personal podcast for myself. I usually journal in google docs but sometimes I find myself too tired or lazy to bother putting my thoughts into coherent sentences and I end up turning to audio journalling where I’m free to ramble to my heart’s content. I also sometimes find that journalling via typing takes too long, and talking out loud is a better (and faster way) to deal with my racing thoughts.”
There are multiple apps that you can use to do audio journaling and become closer to yourself in a structured manner:
Voice Diary with lock
Voice Diary is a personal audio journalling app that allows users to record and reflect on their thoughts, feelings and experiences. With a simple and intuitive interface, users can record voice entries, add tags and emotions and track it over time. The app also provides password protections, customisable recording sessions and the ability to export entries through email or cloud storage. This app has a unique and therapeutic way to process emotions, gain insights and develop a greater understanding of oneself. “Voice Diary With Lock is all I need including voice to text converter, you can save recordings, and photos, you can retrieve it whenever and wherever you want and…It has literally all the features anyone would want from a diary plus is it secure and easy to use, ” writes one user reviewing it.”
Mind Alcove
Mind Alcove is another journalling app that one can use. It has options for journaling, tracking mood swings, and venting out one’s thoughts. It also has prompts such as to start when one is not sure. It also has customisable recording options, storage, and playback which users can use to reflect on their progress, and identify patterns. Users can also add photos and notes to supplement audio journalling. A user wrote, “The journalling feature is incredibly intuitive and customisable. I love that I can record my thoughts and feelings freely, and it even provides prompts for those days when I’m not sure where to start. The ability to add photos and tags to my entries helps me organise my thoughts and track patterns in my emotions.”
iPhone’s journal app
Apple released a Journal app for its iPhone users more than two years ago. Among other options, it also has audio recording feature which allows one user for their journalling experience. It doesn’t just give the option to make unlimited audio entries but users can also trim and edit if they want. They can add titles, descriptions and tags for organisation and share them over email, messages or AirDrop. And with iCloud syncing, the recordings are accessible across all Apple devices. The Voice Memo app in iPhone also integrates with Siri which allows users to record their voice and conveniently capture one’s thoughts and feelings.
AudioDiary
It’s an audio recording journal app which not just lets users capture and record their thoughts but also analyse them using AI and suggest goals that one can set to work on those thoughts. It claims users of data protection and says that it doesn’t sell their data and store it with bank-grade encryption. “If you decide Audio Diary is no longer for you, we will delete your data immediately,” the description says. This is how a user profusely appreciates this app: “I am not someone who writes reviews, but as an extremely busy legal professional, and someone who always wanted to better herself by maintaining diaries and journalling, I must say I am in love with this app.”
