Top 6 Reasons to Journal for your Mental Health
A friend of mine gifted me a journal over the holidays. She had it made for me, how special is that? I nearly cried when I saw it! She chose a color scheme that matched my website, and had my name written on it, along with my practice name: Aligned Life Therapy. Sometimes life just hands you a pointed and lovely coincidence. I love those moments!
Isn’t it sweet?
This sort of thing makes me really happy!
The coincidence was this: right at the time I received the gift, I had just begun incorporating more journaling exercises into therapy with my clients. The practice of journaling in therapy is nothing new. I had tried it out here and there, but up until this point I hadn’t realized its full potential for myself. I’ve journaled sporadically throughout my life, and my main form of journaling occurs in my monthly “passion planner” reflection. So, I’m not a total newbie, but as new ideas started swirling in my head, the urge to journal more frequently took hold.
Around the same time, I had been deepening my understanding of mindful self- compassion, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). With these wonderful influences, I felt excited to use journaling as a way to practice mindfulness and self compassion. I have been inspired by the work of Julia Cameron, author of “The Artist’s Way”, who uses stream of consciousness writing as a creative practice. ACT and CFT principles relating to mindful awareness of thoughts and emotions seem to naturally lend themselves to writing. Additionally, specific self-compassion practices sparked my interest, such as the self-compassionate letter: an exercise in which you write a letter to your struggling self as your highest, most compassionate self.
In my work with clients, I have begun incorporating a few journaling “homework” assignments between sessions. These tasks helped my clients to connect with themselves and to acknowledge their own thoughts, feelings and sensations. This is all in service of the heart of the work: developing greater self-compassion.
Now, what really brought a tear to my eye when I received the gifted journal was this gentle nudge and reminder that, I too, should be incorporating writing into my life. I took the journal as motivation to put into practice some of the same exercises and prompts I have been giving my clients. I’ve personally felt the benefits of this practice, and I’ve received feedback from clients that journaling has been an enriching addition to their therapy journey.
So here I am, a few months out from my initial foray into the therapeutic benefits of journaling. I thought I’d dedicate a post to reflecting on ways journaling can support mental health, whether you are engaged in therapy at the moment or not.
Here are my top 6 reasons why journaling is now my go-to practice, in my own life and on the (virtual) couch. I’ll also leave you with a few prompts to help you get started.
1. Journaling strengthens your present moment awareness
The act of writing encourages you to slow down naturally. You’ll start to ask yourself questions about your life and your experience of the present. You can build awareness through writing things down just as they are. Without trying to change anything, you’ll deepen your understanding of your present experience. A great method is to try stream-of-consciousness writing. I start many of my entries, “I woke up feeling grumpy, it’s cloudy, I’m cold etc.” The simple act of acknowledging what is going on, helps me to find softness.
Think of present moment awareness as that first essential step on the path to finding relief. If we don’t know what we’re working with, as is often the case when we’re feeling overwhelmed and struggling, we won’t know what to do in order to start relieving that suffering.
2. Journaling helps you get to know yourself (and what isn’t you)!
Through the process of journaling, you might start to notice some themes popping up.You might know the feeling of looking back on your teenage journal years later and thinking, woah, I was obsessed with dating! I’ve been there! So the same concept can apply in the present. Slowing down enough to notice the nagging thoughts and feelings will give you hints of where you need to put in some work. Conversely, it can be illuminating to realize through writing what you might be holding onto that ISN’T you! Often without realizing, we make attributions to ourselves that are out of place. This is really about awareness of your unique context. Your work environment might be making you feel crazy. That’s the place, not you. Likewise, and sometimes more insidious, our nuanced experience of privilege, oppression and trauma can influence how we feel. Through journaling, you can train yourself to be aware of these forces in order to grant yourself some kindness and appreciation for what you’re experiencing, instead of stewing in self-criticism. You are not to blame for the injustices you may face or the trauma you have experienced.
3. Journaling connects you to your emotional experience.
No one is going to read your journal. I REPEAT, no one is going to read your journal! The truth is that most of us have a complicated relationship with our emotions. We may avoid, dismiss or judge them at the slightest showing. Journaling is a great practice for acknowledging emotions, especially the ones we don't feel comfortable admitting to others or ones we may try to ignore ourselves. Much healing can come out of acknowledging your true feelings. You can let go of the expectations, pressure or “shoulds” about how you need to feel. In a safe way, you can express any feelings of sadness, guilt, shame, pain, anger or frustration. Which leads me to my next point…
4. Journaling helps you identify your needs.
One beautiful part of connecting to and recognizing your emotions is that you open the door for them to teach you about your needs. Emotions are seriously superpowers. Our own emotions can be our greatest teachers. How often, when feeling overwhelmed, do we take a moment to find a way to make it easier on ourselves? If you're anything like me, you might be so caught up in your worries and to-do list that you default to just grinning and bearing it. Because if there’s so much to do, then, our feelings often take a backseat. Through journaling, you might begin to ask yourself, what are my feelings communicating to me? Sometimes, I notice that I feel sad about not seeing the people I love. When I sit with that, I can more easily decide to schedule a phone call with a friend, for example.
5. Journaling helps you recognize what is important to you (and what’s not)!
Often, we are so caught up in the day to day that we find ourselves disconnected from what really matters - you know, those things in life that bring us a sense of vitality, joy and meaning. Through using journaling and specific prompts, you’ll be giving yourself time and space to evaluate what you really care about. Connecting to our values and what we think makes life meaningful is so important. Think of it as a map that guides your actions and the overall direction of your life. Having even a rough or in-process sense of what this map looks like can help you gain confidence and clarity in your decision making.
6. Journaling promotes processing and healing.
Sometimes this word “processing” feels confusing. What’s it really about?
Processing just means exploring your thoughts, reactions, feelings and body sensations. When we engage in processing, we understand ourselves better, and with a sense of the big picture, can start to offer ourselves kindness. Healing often feels like experiencing a new emotion within an old context. Maybe you have a harsh inner critic that makes you feel shame for how you feel. Through writing, you can explore what this inner critic is trying to say, and also practice not letting it be the only voice in the room. During a self-compassion journaling session, you may recall challenging memories and feelings and conclude with an acknowledgment of your experience coupled with a sense of safety. Practicing this work regularly is what healing is all about.
I hope you find some inspiration to embark on some journaling of your own. Any little bit helps – start with one sentence or five minutes and build up from there. It can feel scary to give yourself permission to feel and learn from your own experience. Whatever you're feeling today is valid and makes sense. Even just trying and acknowledging that this process is difficult is a step in a healing direction.
I’ll leave you with a few prompts and wish you well!
Journaling Prompts for Mental Health
Begin by writing down what you notice in your immediate environment. As thoughts, feelings and sensations arise, write them down. Then, in no particular order, try to answer a few questions that stand out to you:
How does my body feel at this moment?
What is on my mind?
Where is there tension?
What would this feeling look like?
Is this feeling familiar?
What’s going on around me that might be influencing how I feel?
What emotion is this?
How does it feel to acknowledge this emotion?
What might this feeling tell me about what I need?
What about this situation is blocking me from meeting my needs?
What do I care the most about?
What old memories, thoughts, feelings and hurts are sticking around?
How might I try to show myself kindness in this moment?
