Journaling

Journaling is a pastime that has exploded over the last few years and is an excellent way of providing positive health benefits. It is not a new recreation though and for many people, it will bring back many memories.

Who remembers sitting in their bedroom when they were younger, writing in their diary? Writing down all of that was going on in life; who said what, who did what, and most importantly, how you felt about it all.

Childhood diaries encapsulated our personalities; stickers of our favourite pop stars. actors or celebrities, written in multi-coloured ink with drawings inside; or diaries with a lock and key so nosey siblings couldn't go peeking to see what had been written.

That ritual of writing down your thoughts and feelings will, without you even realizing it, have done you a real service psychologically, in helping you to understand and rationalize what was happening in your life at the time.

Now we call it Journaling but it has the same principle as then and works in the same way, and gives us the same benefits as writing in a diary all those years ago.

The art of journaling is simply to write down your thoughts and feelings, fears and anxieties, and anything that pops into your head, enabling you to understand these thoughts, and yourself better. It helps you to see things in a clearer more ordered way and is an excellent way to deal with overwhelming thoughts and emotions, so they don’t begin to take over your life.

Health benefits of journaling

Journaling is good for your health. In the world that we live in today when everything is fast-paced technology, smartphones, laptops, and online communication, the joys of journaling and its health benefits are becoming more and more apparent to people.

Journaling now is not just for jotting down memories and secrets but it is being taken far more seriously as a way to cope with stress and anxiety, depression, and a whole myriad of health problems.

Long-term benefits of journaling

1. Dealing with stress and anxiety

   Journaling is a great way to deal with issues such as stress and anxiety. Writing down negative thoughts and feelings that you have is a way to help you understand what is going on in your mind.

   When we keep thoughts locked inside our heads they can begin to take on a life of their own. Fears and anxieties can grow bigger and bigger and can become more and more confused.

   Journaling will help you understand the thoughts and emotions that you have going on inside your head, and once they are written down on paper it can be much easier to make sense of them and put them into perspective.

   This is a powerful tool for anyone who suffers from stress and anxiety to use because it will help alleviate the damage that stress and anxiety can do to the body.

   The power of journaling has been shown to aid not just in mental health issues but also in fighting physical illnesses such as cancer, asthma, and autoimmune illnesses.

2. Gives you feel good boost

   Putting pen to paper will also help you to feel happier and boost your mood. Writing down any problems or worries takes them out of your mind and can stop you from dwelling on them.

   This positive action can help you to feel happier. It is also a great way to record all of the good memories that you have, and at times when you are feeling down, re-reading them can remind you of all of the positives that you have in life and can make you feel grateful for all that you have. It is a great tool for putting life into perspective.

3. Aids memory function

   Another great plus for journaling is that it aids memory function. It can help with cognitive processes, keeps your memory sharp, and aids in cognitive comprehension.

4. Benefits you emotionally

Writing in a journal can help you with the emotional issues that you may have. It is a way of making sense of your thoughts and feelings and can stop you from ruminating on emotional issues.

Journaling keeps you rooted in the present, this mindfulness tool helps you to put thoughts and emotions into perspective.

It can stop you from reliving painful emotions from the past and can help you to grow and develop as a person emotionally. Making sense of things that have happened to you in the past can prevent you from making the same mistakes again in the future.

5. Gets your creative juices flowing

Journaling can help to unlock the creative right side of your brain. Being creative is good for overall well-being. For people who live mainly on the left side of their brain, journaling can give you more rounded brain use, engaging the whole of your brain and not just one side. It is a great way to escape into your world for a short time, disengaging from what is going on around you.

6. Keeping a Journal can help you deal with depression

Writing down onto paper the thoughts that you are having helps to clear your mind and understand what is bothering you. If you are suffering from depression, this can be a very beneficial tool as it will allow you to gain some clarity into your thinking and gain some control back over your thoughts.

7. Journaling allows you to prioritise issues in your life

Many people can find that they can begin to get overwhelmed by having too much going on in their lives. Writing down in a journal what is going on will help you to prioritise everything and will help you to keep your life in perspective.

If you struggle to manage your time because of this it will be of great assistance to you and could help to relieve stress and anxiety build-up due to disorganization in your life.

8. Writing a journal offers a platform for speaking to yourself in a positive way

If you consistently speak to yourself and have thoughts about yourself using hostile rhetoric, you could find that you suffer from low self-esteem and a lack of confidence.

Writing in a journal can help you to start speaking to yourself using more positive language, enabling you to have a better emotional relationship with yourself.

9. Journaling can increase your self-confidence

Journaling will help you to increase your self-confidence. Writing down all of your achievements and things that you are proud of, will boost your well-being and confidence. Seeing in black and white all of your accomplishments is a very powerful sight and will enable you to feel empowered and confident.

10. Keeping a journal can benefit goal setting and accomplishment

Using a journal is a great way to set goals and accomplish them. Using a journal means that you can work through the different steps that you need to take to reach the goals that you have set for yourself.

It gives you structure and focus, you can see each step you have completed and how far you have left to go, meaning that you stay organised, committed and able to reach your goals.

This can also help to ward off stress and anxiety as you will be more organised and have clearer intentions moving forward.

11. Journaling can boost physical health

As well as the emotional benefits of journaling, it can also aid in boosting your physical health. It is very beneficial for relieving stress and anxiety, which can have a detrimental effect on your body.

Lowering stress levels can aid in lowering blood pressure, helping you to sleep better and have a healthier diet, all of which will help your physical health and well-being.

12. Journaling can benefit communication skills

Journaling can help with your communication skills because it can improve your use of language.

If you are someone who suffers from anxiety at the thought of having to speak to other people, either on a personal or work level, using a journal could be very beneficial for you.

Over time as you journal more and more you should find that you add more and more words to your lexicon, thus improving your vocabulary and communication skills.

13. Journaling can offer time out from negative thinking

Journaling is often recommended to anyone who suffers from depression as it is a very good tool for coping with negative thinking. It can help you to work through your thoughts and to see triggers that can cause negative thinking. It can help you to put negative thoughts into perspective and come up with more positive helpful thoughts.

14. Journaling allows you to clear your mind and see the way forward

If you are someone who suffers from a cluttered overactive mind then using a journal can help to clear your mind and see a way forward. Jotting down the thoughts that you have will mean they are presented in a clearer, more coherent way enabling you to understand your thinking with more clarity.

15. Journaling allows you to get to know your true self

It is amazing what the mind can come up with when you allow it to be expressive.

Sitting down and writing your thoughts in a journal can show you who you really are, your thoughts and values, your belief system, what you think about yourself and where you want to be going in life.

We can often be a far truer version of ourselves when we put pen to paper and really set ourselves free to say what we believe and feel.

17. Journaling can help you deal with traumatic events in your life

Keeping traumatic thoughts locked in your mind will never benefit you.

Being able to get them onto paper and really examine them and how you feel about them can help you to heal and grow. Journaling can be used as a therapy for anyone who suffers emotionally and physically from past trauma and can help you to move on, learn and grow from it.

18. Writing a journal can boost your Immune system

Your immune system is kept in good working order by getting good, adequate sleep, eating a healthy balanced diet, exercising and avoiding stress and anxiety.

Anything that upsets this holistic balance will cause issues with your immune system.

As journaling aids sleep stress and anxiety, a regular journaling routine will also help to boost your immune system.

19. Journaling may help you heal quicker

If you are someone who has suffered emotional pain and trauma in your past then journaling can help you to heal and move on. Instead of keeping traumatic thoughts locked away inside your mind, committing them to paper will release them and will enable you to heal and move on from them. Writing about stressful events will help you to heal.

20. Journaling helps you gain knowledge and benefit from your past experiences

We can all learn from past experiences and mistakes. Writing down what has happened to you in the past will help you gain knowledge and understanding from those experiences and will benefit you in moving forward in the future.

21. Journaling can improve your sleeping habit

Stress and anxiety can cause havoc on regular sleeping patterns which in turn can affect your overall health and well-being.

Using a journal to deal with emotional issues can help you get back into a better sleep/wake cycle and improve your overall health.

How to journal

So journaling is good for you. It is something that is going to help you mentally, emotionally, and physically. You can do it anytime and anywhere and below are some tips for how to journal to get the best out of this practice.

1. Decide what you want to write about

   Planning what you want to write about is the first step to journaling. What do you want your journal to be about, day-to-day experiences? Thoughts and feelings? Plans for the future?

   Deciding in advance will mean that you do not sit down to write only to find that you cannot think of what to put down.

2. Find a quiet comfortable place to write

   This should be an enjoyable experience, a time for you to spend some quality time with your thoughts.

   Make sure that it is as pleasurable as possible. A quiet place where you’re not going to be disturbed, warm and comfortable, with a cup of your favourite drink in hand. This is all about time for you so make sure it is time that you love.

3. Choose a medium to use

   Some people love paper and pens, and some people love technology. Whatever medium you choose to use, make sure that it is a medium that you enjoy using so it is a pleasurable experience.

4. It doesn’t have to be a written journal

If you prefer not to write but still want to keep a journal, there are other ways of doing so. Collecting favourite pieces of music that have resonance for you and storing them on a file to listen to when you want can be just as effective.

If you want to create a more visual journal, think of using pictures and colour to represent what you want to express. Some may want to use many different techniques; the main point is to go with what you want.

5 Choose a time to journal

Either first thing in the morning before your day begins, or last thing at night when you are in a more reflective mood are good times to journal.

Sticking to the same time will mean that it becomes more of a routine in your day and will mean that you are far more likely to stick to it.

Final thoughts

Journaling can be much more than just jotting down what you are thinking. There are many positive health benefits that you need to know about journaling that can be a great benefit to you.

If you are uncertain about how to go about starting your journal then speaking to a professional can help you to get started on your journey. They can help you to understand fully the benefits of this powerful tool and can help you to get the most out of it to enhance your life.

If you would like to listen to the audio version of this blog post click below;

If you enjoyed this blog post or have any further thoughts on journaling please comment and share below