Journaling: The Best Self-Therapy Friend

Journaling – the practice of keeping a journal to explore and make sense of your thoughts and feelings surrounding life.

Journaling has always been something I associated with the past when individuals wrote in physical journals and notebooks for communication and self-expression. To me, it was a form of entertainment and a way to kill time and I often wondered why anyone would choose to journal in this day and age.

“Journal writing is a voyage to the interior.”

– Christina Baldwin

What I failed to recognize, however, is the power that journalling holds with regard to connection; more specifically, the power it holds for self-connection. To me, journaling was something one does for others – writing for the enjoyment of others, instead of for one’s personal development.  At times, I even saw it as an art form, one requiring craftsmanship and a talent for writing.

Oh, How Wrong I Was

At the beginning of this year, I started reading “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron (you can read my post about the book). My main intention was to reconnect with my sense of creativity. Within her book, Cameron calls on readers to begin doing what she called “morning pages” – an exercise of journaling. At first, I thought it was going to be a drag and, honestly, a waste of time. Despite my reservations,  I followed through and began to write 3 pages every morning, making it a habit to start every day with a bit of journaling.

The first 2 weeks were really hard for me. My mind was full of random thoughts and my only goal was to put everything down on the page.

The transformational change came sometime in the third week. I started feeling a flow when writing. Instead of an overwhelming and messy collection of thoughts, I began to identify a focused and collected train of thought, one which I could channel into my writing.  

In the weeks that followed, I became more excited for my “morning pages,” excited for this special time I had for myself in the mornings. I began to feel that not only were my thoughts when writing clearer than before, but my thinking as a whole had changed.  

“Journal writing gives us insights into who we are, who we were, and who we can become.” 

– Sandra Marinella, The Story You Need to Tell: Writing to Heal from Trauma, Illness, or Loss

I also noticed the repetition of certain thoughts and ideas within my pages – recurring concepts that had been on my mind but hidden beneath my cluttered thinking. The book reignited my creativity in an unexpected way. 

My expectation as I started the journey of rekindling my creativity was that I would reestablish the ability and sense of creativity I had in the past, such as when I started my handmade decoration business (I will write about my creative journey at a later date, but for now, you can view it here).

Oh, How Wrong I Was . . . Again

Although this part of my creativity was still there, though not as sparkling as before, I also awakened an old passion of mine. Through the process, I rekindled my interest in understanding how the human mind works and what motivates us.

This discovery coincided with the one-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic. During this year, I had begun to take short courses on anxiety and stress and had also completed courses on life coaching and psychology.

Journaling aided me on a  journey of self-discovery and ultimately has led me to take the steps to become a certified life and wellness coach. 

Along this journey, I stumbled on a few sources that helped me better understand the benefits of journaling. Journaling is not about expression. It is about introspection, about digging into your mind and having a relationship with yourself and your mind. It is not about what others would read, but about what you say to yourself.

Journalling is a very current and relevant mental exercise, not a thing of the past. A lot of successful people journal. A lot of therapists and life coaches journal too. Many of them ask their clients to do the same.

If you can’t view the embedded video click here to view it on YouTube.

Benefits of Journaling

“I don’t journal to ‘be productive.’ I don’t do it to find great ideas or to put down prose I can later publish. The pages aren’t intended for anyone but me. It’s the most cost-effective therapy I’ve ever found.”

– Tim Ferriss

There are a lot of scientifically proven benefits to journaling including

– Improved cognitive functioning

– Helping with anxiety

– Reduced stress

– Helping with depression

How To Journal

Journaling shouldn’t cause stress. It has to be a relaxing time to quiet the mind. Here are a few tips on how to journal:

– Try to write every day, and if you can’t, make a routine for the days you can. 

– Write when you feel it is a good time to do it. Don’t force it if you don’t feel like writing.

– Make it easy. It is not a formal exercise. It is ok if you make mistakes, if your grammar isn’t correct, if you don’t always write with the same pen, or if the structure of the writing changes. The purpose of writing is to put your thoughts on paper, not to write a masterpiece.

 “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”

– Anne Frank

– Find a comfortable spot to write, one where you can relax and not be distracted.

– You can use a notepad, or write on separate pieces of paper. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You can buy a journal with dated pages and prompting questions. Anything works.

– Try to finish each day with a few positive words to set a positive tone. 

Journaling should be something we all do. If many of the stumbling mental stones are left on the pages, the road to a clear mind and more positive living will be more accessible to all. 

Conclusion

I do the pages every morning now. It has become a part of my morning ritual. When I journal, I empty my mind of all the small and irrelevant thoughts that can cloud my judgment or thinking. This clears the space for the important tasks I have each day. I am so grateful for discovering journaling. While it took me a long time to find it and make it a routine, it has changed my life immensely.

*I have kept all my notebooks since I started journaling in January. I recently went back and started reading some of the past entries I wrote. It was such an eye-opening experience to see how my thinking and attitude have changed over the last 6 months. If you decide to do the same, don’t do it often, and don’t read the last few entries soon after you write them. The events are still current and they might bring back anxiety and more stress.

The next thing I am going to try is to incorporate a gratitude page into my journaling. 

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Do you journal? If so, let me know how you find the process? When do you journal? Do you have a particular set time to do it? Please share your experience in the comments below, so others can also learn from them. If you’d like, you can contact me directly.

I offer a free 1-hour discovery session for new clients. I would love to talk to you and help you get on the road to becoming the best version of yourself.

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I am here for you!