I write, therefore I am calm

It's been another long, hectic, and altogether frustrating day. Your nerves are shot, your pantyhose have run and it looks like peanut butter for dinner -- again. You'd scream out loud if you thought someone was actually listening. Before you dive into bed and pull the covers over your head, try grabbing pen and paper. Maybe the person you need to listen to -- is you.

Keeping a journal as a way to keep your cool is becoming more and more popular among women of all ages. Getting your thoughts and feelings down on paper is a healthy way to let off some steam. Sheila Bender, poet and author of eight books including Keeping a Journal You Love, has some suggestions to help get you started.

Don't be intimidated
Maybe you haven't written anything more than a to-do list in years, but that doesn't mean you don't have it in you. "Anyone who has the idea of starting a journal can do it," Bender says. "Everyone has it in them to be a writer, to put their experiences on the page in a way that's real." Remember, no one is grading you on your journal, so don't feel pressured into writing a certain way. Write the way you want to and the words will flow.

Find your style
"It takes practice," Bender notes. "You have to find the rhythm that works for you." Maybe you'll want to write every day, maybe once a week. Maybe you want to structure your journal in a more visual way, or journal on your computer. Bender says some people write letters to loved ones, dead or alive, without the intention of sending them. Others write entire journals for another person, such as writing out the story of your life for your daughter. "Basically, you just have to find a place where you've got lots to say," she says.

Use writing tools
If you don't know where to get started, Bender suggests borrowing styles from poems, prayers, or passages from novels, anything that caught your attention. Showing, rather than telling, is a writer's technique for getting an idea across without spelling it out. Describing the ways your day was difficult is more effective in resolving issues that simply writing, "I had a bad day."