The Benefits of Journaling
Hunker Down with a Good Book this Winter - Your Personal Journal
Michelle Halle, LCSW
Whether you are a writer or not, journaling is a worthwhile hobby at every stage of life.
I’ve always been interested in words. When I was 10, I began reading the thesaurus for fun. My husband knows that I value his sterling character traits, but the real reason I married him is because of his superior vocabulary. I was smitten by his ability to turn a phrase, quote poetry and provide the definition of any word I threw his way, exactly as it might appear in Merriam Webster.
I don’t remember how old I was when I first started writing, but I clearly remember the first time I was recognized for my writing skills. I was in junior high school and my language arts teacher held up my essay in front of the entire class. She tapped the paper for emphasis and said, “Now this is a successful essay.” She went on to describe what I had accomplished, and I felt a deep sense of pride because my writing style came to me naturally. It was then that I began to identify as a writer.
One of the most important things I have used my writing skills for is journaling. I’ve been journaling for ages, and I do mean ages. I began journaling (or “keeping a diary” as the activity was known back then) during my adolescence.
The Benefits of Journaling
While taking a walk on a crisp autumn day and admiring the foliage, I couldn’t help but notice the squirrels scurrying around, furtively gathering acorns to store for the upcoming winter. Watching them generated a thought: Storing things is appropriate if you’re a squirrel, and sometimes appropriate for us as well (think saving for the retirement) but keeping your feelings stored up is usually a bad idea.
When you’re unable to express or process your feelings, they get bottled up, and you’re prone to become overwhelmed. Working through your feeling is important. Ideally, talking about your feelings is the best way to work through them, but when there’s no one available to talk to there are other ways to cope with your feelings.
Sometimes people substitute actions for words. Children are most prone to this and often act out instead of using their words..
At times, actions can be a pragmatic solution to distract you from your feelings and help you discharge emotional energy. Singing, dancing, cleaning the house, listening to music and exercising, are good ways to release the tension too. Other actions like retail therapy (shopping), substance abuse, excessive exercising, promiscuity, gambling, or overeating are poor substitutes for talking since they cause more harm than good.
Even when actions are helpful, it’s important to remember that they are a substitute for expressing yourself through words. If you’ve been in therapy, you might have heard your therapist suggest you put words to that nervous energy that drives you to shake your leg up and down repeatedly or makes you twist your ring on your finger. If you have enough self-awareness you might ask yourself why you’re walking to the refrigerator for food when your body is not sending you hunger signals. In these two situations, you are trying to discharge an uncomfortable feeling through an action. It might be a short-sighted solution and one that creates a new problem instead.
Journaling is beneficial because it is an empowering action.
The act of writing down your feelings helps you express and process them. It gives you the opportunity to think about your feelings and uncover what they are telling you, but - like any worthwhile undertaking - it requires focus and commitment.
Just like hunger pangs prompt you to eat, once you’re committed to journaling, a discomfiting feeling will prompt you to write. Similarly, eating three balanced meals maintains good physical health, writing routinely contributes to good mental health. Once you’ve made the connection between feelings and writing, journaling can be a potent affirmation of your emotions. Because properly assembling your thoughts requires reflection, journaling promotes clarity and clarity provides relief.
The How To’s of Journaling
Find a spot where you can immerse yourself in the experience without fear of interruption.
Set aside a specific time for writing by linking it to another activity you already do (with your morning coffee, after dinner).
Give yourself a buffer and allow for time after writing to transition back to your normal activities.
Protect your journal from access by others.
Don’t pressure yourself to write something that is perfect - just give true expression to the experiences you're writing about.
Proven Benefits of Journaling
How is journaling good for your mental health?
· Increases self-awareness by helping you form a coherent narrative about your experiences
· Triggers memories that are linked to the present feeling
· Generates new ideas
· Untangles traumatic feelings
· Creates a stronger relationship to your self
· Calms your mind
· Helps you stop ruminating because you’ve put your thoughts outside yourself
· Helps cultivate gratitude
Journal writing has also been proven to have other benefits such as:
Improving your critical thinking skills
Boosting your immune system
Increasing your achievement of goals
Improving your problem-solving skills
Better academic achievement
Reduced work absenteeism
Where Should You Start?
Writing about your feelings and gaining clarity is a validating experience. If you’re wondering what to journal about, know that it’s entirely your choice. There is no right or wrong way to journal. You can use a pen and paper or your keyboard – it’s a personal preference and you should use the tool you’re most comfortable using. Some common journaling topics are wishes, frustrations, joys, accomplishments, love, anger, and hope.
Dreams are interesting topics to write about, too. They often produce deep seated beliefs, fears, or wishes and as Sigmund Freud concluded, they are the royal road to the unconscious and lead you to deeper insight.
Writing about strong feelings such as anxiety helps reduce symptoms. Anxiety is often caused by suppressed feelings and by bringing your feelings to the surface your anxiety will diminish.
Another popular journaling topic is gratitude. Your perspective on life shifts when you choose to develop what’s commonly referred to today as an attitude of gratitude. A gratitude journal expands your focus to include things other than stressful events or triggers. Expressing your appreciation for simple things in life such as your fluffy pillow and warm duvet are not diversions from reality; they ground you in reality.
If you are goal oriented, journaling is a very handy tool to track your goals and hold yourself accountable to them. A food diary is certainly considered a journal and is proven to help keep people stick to their food plan. Journaling can be used to reinforce any new habit or hobby you are trying to master like exercising, meditating, or learning a foreign language. There are several apps for journaling as well as journaling prompts which are easily found on line.
Don’t know where to start? Try this:
· Think of something that happened that upset you
· Imagine yourself telling it to a friend
· Listen to the words that you are using in your imaginary conversation
· Write the words
Journaling has had a profound effect on my life. It has helped me through some of my most challenging periods, achieve goals, has given me an outlet to express my creativity, and has allowed me to share my ideas with others. It’s an important part of my life and you might enjoy its benefits as well. Write about it and let me know!
*For those of you, who, are language lovers like me, I recommend you read Benjamin Dreyer’s book, Dreyer’s English. He’s a writer and copy editor who uses words so delightfully that reading his is like splashing around in the ocean waves on summer afternoon.