Author and playwright Oscar Wilde famously noted in The Importance of Being Earnest, “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”
Aside from offering a sensational read about a secret 5th grade crush, that somewhat naughty thing you did in high school, or the time you put fake vomit on your college roommates pillow, keeping a journal or a diary can also be a seriously therapeutic undertaking.
People have been keeping journals for centuries. Frankly, it’s where we get some of our more accurate and interesting historical insights. However, journal keeping for therapeutic purposes first gained traction in the 1960s when Dr. Ira Progoff, a psychologist in New York City began offering workshops in reflective writing to help his patients.
According to his biography, Progoff’s method is an integrative system for evoking and interrelating aspects of an individual life. He penned two books describing the method: ‘At a Journal Workshop’ and ‘The Practice of Process Meditation.’
Keeping a journal does offer emotional benefits. For example, writing about a trauma can help the person to process it. But, the act of recording the trauma can also have physical benefits. Dr. James Pennebaker, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin has authored a book, ‘Writing to Heal: A guided journal for recovering from trauma & emotional upheaval.’
Through his research and clinical trials, Pennebaker has found that writing about painful experiences can enhance immune response, reduce recovery times, and promote physical, psychological, and social well-being.
Journaling can help expand your smarts. By it’s very nature, writing keeps you totally immersed in words. In trying to express yourself, you stretch your mind and your vocabulary to accurately transfer the thoughts swirling around in your brain to paper. There are a number of studies that show a strong correlation between vocabulary and IQ.
Journaling can help keep you on track. Not a list maker? Try writing down your goals in a journal. Ticking things off your list one by one is not only an efficient way to get things done. It also gives you the most amazing sense of accomplishment.
Journaling can help you preserve memories. There are times in life when something happens and you think, “I’ll never forget this.” And then…you do. Time passes and the clarity of the event begins to fade. If you’ve kept an account of it in a journal, it is there in vivid detail for you to revisit again and again.
Journaling is a great way to relieve stress. Did you have a rotten day? Did some rude person cut you off in traffic? Write about it. Say exactly how you feel and get it off your chest. Telling someone off…especially in the pages of a private diary (where there is no fear of reprisal) can be stress relieving and therapeutic.
Journaling can help with problem solving. Writing is generally a right brained creative endeavor and working through a complex issue is the domain of the analytical left brain. Engaging both sides of the brain can help open up more avenues for finding a solution.
Use a journal to remind you of all of the things you have to be grateful for. Sometimes our blessings can get lost in the morass of every day stuff that bogs us down. Set aside 10 or 15 minutes a day to be intentionally grateful. Write about the good things that happened. It will help you focus on the small special things you might otherwise miss. Did someone let you cut in line at the grocery store because you only had two items and their basket was full? Did a patient reach out and squeeze your hand in silent thanksgiving? These are the little lights that can turn a day from dreary to dazzling. Write them down.
Finally, journaling can enhance your spiritual life. A prayer journal is an excellent way to remind yourself daily of the needs of others and to write down your most heartfelt needs and thoughts. It is a very intentional way to communicate what weighs most heavy on your heart.
If you’re unsure about how to get started journaling, the books that were mentioned can offer guidance. There are also a host of other books that can help get your started on your journaling journey. Just give ‘journaling’ a quick Google.
One small tip from this writer though…buy a lovely bound journal to start with and a good pen. There is nothing like the sight of a pristine sheet of paper to make you want to fill it with your own amazing thoughts and words.
