5 Reasons Why You Need to Journal
The American Psychological Association defines mindfulness as awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings. Mindfulness can help people avoid destructive or automatic habits and responses by learning to observe their thoughts, emotions, and other present-moment experiences without judging or reacting to them.
One of the ways to practice mindfulness is by journaling. Aside from being easy to implement, it has many benefits to our health. Positivepsychology.com cites the following reasons:
1. Journaling for Anxiety
Journaling has proven popular and effective for treating clients experiencing anxiety, possibly because of an improved acceptance of negative emotions and a more helpful emotional response to stress.
2. Journaling for Depression
Research suggests that expressive writing and gratitude journaling can reduce symptoms of depression, providing an effective intervention for clients receiving treatment in therapy.
3. Journaling for Stress Management
Journaling can support coping and reduce the impact of stressful events – potentially avoiding burnout and chronic anxiety. Studies link writing privately about stressful events and capturing thoughts and emotions on paper with decreased mental distress. When journaling for stress management, processing our emotions in written form may even increase the likelihood that we reach out for social support. This, in turn, leads to emotional healing and improved resilience to stress.
4. Journaling for Reflection
When stressed or consumed by negative thoughts, it’s difficult to view our situation objectively. Writing in a journal can help us create the space and distance needed to reflect on what has happened, where we are, and what is ahead. Journaling may create sufficient cognitive defusion–looking at thoughts rather than being in them–to create the separation needed to accept our feelings and commit to the changes we need to make.
5. Journaling for Recovery
Research suggests that journaling, particularly expressive writing, can help those experiencing or recovering from the emotional trauma associated with PTSD. Another innovative approach combined journaling with visualization and appeared to offer lasting support to war veterans. Other findings confirm journaling as a valuable and effective intervention for recovery from addiction.
Here are some steps you can do to start the habit of journaling:
• Pick the time of day that suits you best to write in the journal; setting a regular time is helpful but accept that it may be necessary to be flexible.
• Start by expressing your feelings, allowing yourself time to name each one. Then move on to observing your thoughts and any patterns of thinking that might characterize you.
• Start small. Begin by writing for only a few minutes on a subject of your choice – perhaps the day’s events or something that has been troubling you.
• Create and express what you want from life and how you feel. There are no rules, and there is no wrong way of doing this.
• Do not worry about spelling and punctuation – no one is here to judge you.
• Choose a medium that suits you. Use a journal app, write on paper, use a computer, or record your spoken thoughts.
• Accept that, at times, you may feel upset as you write. And that’s ok. Take a break if you need to. While this process will not fix all your problems, it will help you learn more about yourself.
