Write Your Way to Healing: Three Journaling Practices You Need to Try
Writing your thoughts and emotions can aid in recovery and provide clarity.
Dear diary,
There is a relief in writing down my thoughts and feelings of the day. I can scribe them all down, close the book and lock them away, releasing myself of the burden of having them stew in my mind.
Love,
Me.
The common gift for a 7-9 year old girls was a diary with lock and key, maybe even a pen with some kind of pom pom on the top. Writing in a diary, or journaling, has been around for a millennia to document travels, reflections or meditations.
Journaling has mental health benefits
Researchers have linked positive impacts on mental and physical health to the practice of journaling. Writing about feelings, or upsetting events, can reduce activity in the amygdala, helping us regulate emotions and feel happier. It can also reduce stress, making us less likely to become ill. There is also a calming effect in the physical activity of writing on paper, and while digital journals are available today, the preference is still the good ol’ pen and paper method.
Journaling and healing
I took a class in my masters program where the focus was on using writing to heal. It was lead by Kathleen Adams, author of “Journal to the Self.” Her book is filled with different types of journaling along with how to use them. I learned so much about myself through this practice and was able to work through my own experiences in a past relationship. Using different techniques, I was able to process the abuse in the relationship and separate myself from it and recognize the root cause, which wasn’t my burden to carry.
If you struggle with indecision, self-doubt, anxiety or trauma (let’s be honest, we all do), give some of these techniques a try.
Here are the top three journal styles I use
1. List of 100
I cannot recommend this one enough. It’s simple and effective. Number a piece of paper from 1 to 100. Think of a topic and write it at the top. This next step isn’t necessary, but I find it helpful – set a timer. Adams notes that if you don’t overthink it, you can complete the list in 30 minutes. If I am trying to make a decision, I give myself a 15-minute timer. Then I just start listing the first thing that comes into my mind about that topic.
You will repeat answers and that is important in the fast writing step. Try to get all 100 before the timer runs out. And, yes, repeat answers if that is what comes up.
Once the timer ends, put the pen down and read your responses. Notice how you feel about the frequency of them, maybe notice the penmanship as you continued down the list. If you didn’t get all the way to 100, that’s ok too!
Next, circle or highlight repeated words. You want to tally up how often each repeated word(s) came up. At the end, you will likely end up with a clear winner, and that just may be your decision.
Example: In 2020, I was agonizing over the decision to move. It was the middle of a pandemic. My pre-pandemic commute was just under 3 hours, round trip, each day. We also lived in an area with high crime and gun violence. I didn’t want to raise my kid there, but the costs to move were intimidating. so I did the list activity: 100 reason to move. I then did a second one: 100 reason to stay.
At the end of the activity, the top reason to move was to gain more time with my family, with safety being second. Not surprising, money was the top reason not to move. In the end, it was easy to choose time with family over money, and we moved in the pandemic, and it was the right decision for us. I would spend months dissecting this decision if I had not done this activity.
2. Unsent Letter
Adams explains that the unsent letter technique is a great tool for the “three C’s – catharsis, completion and clarity.” The most important part of an unsent letter is that it remains unsent. Don’t write this one in an email that you will accidentally hit send.
The point here to express deep emotion and express opinions and thoughts you cannot say out loud. It can be addressed to anyone or anything. This technique allows for unfiltered and unburdened writing because an unsent letter doesn’t harm, but it can do a lot of good to process events that may have been buried deep but hurt all the same. To help release your burdens by moving them from within yourself onto the paper, you can complete the process by destroying the letter after.
3. Stream of consciousness
I use this technique the most but the payoff may not come for months or years later. This style is also referred to as free writing or flow. Basically, you write whatever comes front and center when you pick up the pen and paper. You don’t try to organize or edit, you just let it flow from you onto the paper and let it go where it goes. The first benefit is that during the writing, it may trigger reminders, memories or feelings that can lead to deeper exploration.
I get the most benefit when I revisit my stream of consciousness writings months or years later. By then, I have new perspectives, new information and can reflect on that moment and where I’ve come since. In some cases, it helped me see a pattern of behavior that I didn’t realize had come up before. When I realized I experienced job burnout, I thought had developed within a year, but when I went back, I could see that I had those same overloading habits years before. Helping me see the patterns and history allowed me to have a different perspective and a different approach to resolving my burnout.
Journaling as a form of self-care
I am a big fan of journaling as a practice. and I keep several journals based on different areas of my own self-work. I make it a yearly practice to read the journals from the year before and reflect on my reactions to the writings. It provides insight, gives space for compassion and gratitude, and helps me recognize when I am about to repeat a past mistake.
Adams provides a guide on how to journal and how to use each of the 22 techniques, along with case studies and additional suggestions on how to enhance the tools. I highly recommend “Journal to the Self” for anyone who enjoys journaling or writing.
I am not affiliated with Kathleen Adams and I do not make money from the purchase of her book; just a fan who has found value in her teachings.
