Uncovering the Power of Journaling: The Process and Impact of Keeping a Personal Journal
- Rocio Flores
- Feb 21, 2018
- 6 min read
If you have been thinking about keeping a journal but are not sure if it is worth the time and effort or how to get started, then you've come to the right place. I am going to list some of the health benefits associated with journaling, the types of journals you could have, how to focus your writing, and how to get going.
Personally, I have a rocky history with journaling. In 3rd grade my mom got me a cute little diary with a cute little lock and I thought, well if it locks, I am safe to write what I want. (Confession time: I wrote down the name of the boy I like.) Now imagine how I felt when I came home from school one day to see my diary open, with the pages ripped out, all over the bedroom??? My baby brother had gotten into it! (You would've never seen me move so quick to clean it up.)
Since then, I abandoned the idea of keeping a diary, for fear that someone might read it. Then in 6th grade we were !forced! to write a letter to our future selves. We had to spend a certain amount of time each day journaling. The teacher emphasized just writing anything down, no matter what. So I still have that 15 page letter to this day and aside from it being super cute and cheesy and also listing boys I liked, it instilled in me a passion for writing. It was the first time that I liked writing. I think it was the freedom of being able to jot down whatever I wanted, not prompted by any authority (teachers!); just me and my thoughts down on paper. Since then i've kept various forms of journals and kept some and got rid of others. It is amazing to look back and see what the younger me cared about, and remember things just as they were. So...obviously i'm on the side of keeping a journal. But I do concede that there are valid reasons for not doing so, below I will share those points as well.
Health Benefits
Before researching this, I already thought that there must be health benefits associated with journaling but, I didn't know that there were physical health benefits! Several studies have shown health benefits in groups of people with rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, cancer, and HIV.
There are of course also marked mental health benefits such as decreasing stress, managing anxiety, and coping with depression. Studies have shown these types of long term benefits:
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Types Of Journals
Now, not all journaling starts with "Dear Diary". Journaling can come in many forms like planners that have space for free writing, guided planners and journals that can help with achieving certain goals, and even therapy guided journaling for mental health. (Sign up here to get my Weekly Guided Planner sent to your email!) There are also online journals that you can try out if you don't like pen and paper and prefer to have supermax encryption. Check out the online journal platforms Penzu and Journey. In my opinion a journal is any place you choose to write and in anyway that you want to write.
Focus on Thoughts, Emotions, Behavior
There are a ton of pros to journaling, but are there cons??? Some people think so; Steven Stosny, Ph.D. warns that
Makes you live too much in your head Makes you a passive observer of your life (thinking about how you’ll record it instead of experiencing what is happening) Makes you self-obsessed Becomes a vehicle of blame instead of solutions Wallows in negative things that have happened to you."
To overcome this you need to have a clear focus and intention in your writing and the processing that it helps you do. So rather than just writing the bad thing that happened to you, you want to also write down your thoughts, emotions, and behavior associated with the events. Susan Lutgendorf, PhD says that "An individual needs to find meaning in a traumatic memory as well as to feel the related emotions to reap positive benefits from the writing exercise". James Pennebaker notes that people should find new ways to look at the experiences so that each time they grow and change, and it leads to a changed perspective, he even states that the language that people use can make a difference: "the more they use such cause-and-effect words as "because," "realize" and "understand," the more they appear to benefit."
How To Do It
Step 1: Get a journal and a pen you like!
You want to feel comfortable using the journal and writing in it. I have had journals that were too big or too small and I just didn't like them. I also look to get one that is pretty because that's me. So find something that is you!
Step 2. Create an intention for your journal.
As I said above, there are many types of journals and each of them tends to have its own intention. A Diary is for the most part a daily gathering of events and experiences. A planner helps you organize your life and keep track of important things you want to do. A bible journal may lead your studies and allow you to reflect on daily devotionals and learn verses. And of course there are many uses for people dealing with mental health issues. The university of Rochester states that
Step 3. Just do it.
Don't care about what anyone else would do, and focus on what you want. I was scared to write what I wanted for many years because I was scared of somebody reading it. I kind of think now, well, if they read it, at least it won't seem fake. Your journal doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't have to follow grammar or spelling rules ... you can write sideways or on every other page. It only needs to make sense to you.
I have sooo many journals, some of them are full and some have like half the pages left. I've devoted some to just mental health, just bible study, or just business, and I have some that are mixed all over. Currently I am using my daily planner as a the place to jot down my daily actions, my thoughts, the stuff I learn, the stuff I don't want to forget, and sometimes doodles. My intention is to be able to look back and see where I've come from. Just like that letter they made us write in 6th grade, I love being able to see where I've grown, where I've failed, and where I can continue to succeed.
I encourage you to pick up a journaling habit. You can also read my post on Why You Should Be Taking Notes and learn about the benefits of handwritten notes and the 2Qs I focus on in my notebooks. I really hope that you liked this post and you've found it helpful, If so, please like and share it with your people online. :) and Have a Great Day!
Further reading:
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