Its time for another Life Well Lived Getting Happy panel!

This time, we want to hear more from our readers. How does blogging, journaling, writing and connecting online help to increase your happiness?

On April 15, 2001, I started a journal on the LiveJournal website. Eleven years later, I still have that journal.

Writing is, to me, free therapy. It allows me to get all my feelings out “on paper,” analyze them, and then decide where to go from there. In the 11 years that I’ve had my journal, its seen me through college, jobs, heartbreak, moving, and marriage. It’s heard me sob about loss. It’s heard me squeal in glee about successes. And its even heard me ramble about any given new obsession I may have at the time.

I happen to genuinely enjoy writing, which is where blogging comes in for me. My journal is for personal life. My blog is for my love of writing. Writing gives me joy. I love words. I love painting a photo with words. I love telling a story, making someone think, or describing something.

Writing makes me happy. Be it just to write or for therapeutic purposes, it doesn’t matter. It’s a joy. What about you? How does blogging, journaling, writing and connecting online help to increase your happiness? Leave your thoughts here and/or join me in the discussion on the main page for this topic on BlogHer. Also, don’t miss your chance to win an iPod Touch and a $50 iTunes gift certificate to go with it in thecurrent Life Well Lived Sweepstakes!