We’ve all heard the experts tout the power of journaling to help clear and relax the mind, or enhance clarity and focus, but while writing in a journal every night sounds romantic, it also sounds a little intimidating to those without ink smeared hands. The good news is, experts agree, you don’t have to be the next Jane Austen or Ernest Hemingway to try your hand at this time-honored tradition that therapists today attest has major benefits to overall health and wellbeing.
What is Journaling?
Journaling is the practice of documenting your thoughts, feelings, ideas and reflections on a regular basis. “There is a ton of benefit to handwriting for the brain, so I often suggest to clients to buy the journal and get a pen and hand write, but not everyone has the time to sit and journal,” says Justine Carino, LMHC, founder of Carino Counseling in White Plains, NY.
The process can look different to different people. Writing with pen and paper is the traditional approach, but as therapists have discovered the benefits of journaling over the years and the hindrance that handwriting can be for some people, they have become increasingly open to video recordings, voice recordings, notes in a cell phone, doodles or texts as good alternative approaches. “I think having minimal guidelines is the best if people are new to journaling,” says Liz McGuire, manager of rehabilitation therapy at St. Vincent’s Behavioral Health Center in Westport, CT. As a creative arts therapist who is educated in dance and movement therapy, she personally has used journaling from time to time. “I find value in the creative, expressive and healing elements of journaling,” she adds.
How it Helps
“It can be reflective, expressive, structured, creative, emotional or purely functional, but at its core, journaling is a way of giving the mind and body a place to put what they are carrying,” says Erica Schwartzberg, therapist with Downtown Somatic Therapy in New York City. “Writing helps move experience from raw emotion into something digestible.”
Professionals say the outlet is an excellent coping strategy, method of self-care, outlet for expressing and processing emotions, and tool for stress relief. Carino says a simple brain dump without structure or punctuation that puts all your thoughts and worries on paper in the form of doodles, bullet points or words and phrases can have a benefit. “If you journal for five minutes, amazing. Thirty seconds, amazing. Fifteen minutes, great! There are no rules,” says Carino. She said the process can also help us separate worries about things that are out of our control and worries about problems we can solve. If it is something we have control over, like creating a business plan, remembering the school bake sale or preparing for a meeting, we can put a plan into action and write it down. If it is out of our control, putting it on paper or in a phone note can help us release it.
“A brain dump is not a waste,” says Schwartzberg. “It can be one of the most effective uses of journaling. Not everything needs meaning-making. Sometimes journaling can be about witnessing the burden.” In those moments, she recommends writing down what the feeling is that you are having and filling in the blank, “What I need is….”
For those who are seeking to improve self-esteem and well-being, journaling can also be a great tool for reframing self-talk, says McGuire. “It helps one to develop some objectivity and some distance from your thoughts (especially the negative thoughts),” she says, “’I am a bad person’ can be reframed to be ‘I am thinking I am a bad person.’”
Sit With Your Thoughts
No matter our approach, the key to the process is carving out a time of day that works for you to sit with your thoughts rather than run from them, notes McGuire. Whether we use the technique for self-discovery or coping, it gives us the opportunity to reflect, vent, engage in creativity or understand our own consciousness “without judging” adds McGuire. “Showing up, sitting down and being quiet is the process,” she says. For that reason, hand-writing instead of typing or voice recording can have an added benefit, say experts. “Writing by hand offers an added regulation by slowing the brain down and creating a felt sense of presence,” says Schwartzberg. “Typing can sometimes keep people in a more cognitive, analytical state. Handwriting invites the nervous system to soften.”
Prompts are OK
If you still aren’t sure how to begin, therapists say there are lots of resources out there to get you started. “I recommend three entry points,” says Schwartzberg. “Body, emotion and need.” She recommends starting with the sentence, “Right now, I don’t know what to write but…”
Many journals offer up daily prompts to help you begin. Those working with a therapist can ask them to provide prompts between sessions. There are countless resources for prompts online, as well. “There is so much out there, but you have to try it out and see what really works best,” says Carino. “There are a ton of different modalities out there. “I think some people look for the therapist to fix the problems, but the therapist is just providing the tools and the guidance and it’s really up to the person to incorporate that and actually make the change.”
Make it Habit
While time and place matter little, repetition is key, says Carino. To ensure you make it a habit, she advises that you stack it with something you are already doing. If you are meditating every day, save an extra five minutes for journaling. If you watch TV every night in bed, keep a journal by your bedside and spend five minutes journaling before you put the TV on. Voice notes while driving home from work in your car can also be an effective ritual. “Whatever is easiest for you,” adds Carino, “but if you want to make it a consistent habit, stack it with other habits you are already doing.”
Write and Release
Remember when journaling, the act isn’t about writing beautiful prose that will eventually be read or published. It’s about releasing thoughts, emotions and burdens. While some find it helpful to go back and re-read entries, therapists don’t always recommend it. “I find it can trigger shame or over-analysis, especially if a person leans towards perfectionism or they might start performing for the journal,” says Schwartzberg. “Those dealing with trauma can also re-activate themselves.” She recommends the Artist’s Way approach: Write it, release it, don’t judge it.
“It doesn’t matter when you do it or how you do it. It’s just a matter of the process,” adds Carino. “It helps people gain clarity, it can help relieve worry and stress, and it’s very helpful for goal setting. It helps you stay focused. It’s something you can do at home to help yourself.”
