Do You Journal?

Do you keep a journal? I used to, but I haven't written in any sort of personal journal in a really long time, unless you count my many blogs, but my blogs are public and others can read them, so I cannot be as open in them as I used to be in my private journal.

It was really carthartic for me, whenever something was troubling me, to write in my journal. In my journal, which was for my eyes only, I could vent at people who made me angry, think through problems that needed to be addressed, brainstorm ideas (no matter how silly), make to-do lists and write about the things that made me happy.

If you journal, do you find it helps you? Does it make you a better writer in other ways? Does getting all of your random thoughts and feelings written down in your journal free you up to write more eloquently with your more creative endeavors?