8 Reasons to Start Journaling Today

Have you ever wanted to know yourself more? Have you wished for more mental clarity and emotional balance? Would you like to improve your productivity? If your answer is yes, you may be interested to know that there is a simple and accessible activity that can help you achieve all of this and more: It is about “journaling” or expressive writing.

Journaling is a form of habitual writing, which consists of capturing your thoughts, feelings and experiences in a personal diary. It's a free, non-judgmental form of self-expression, where you can write about whatever you want, however you want. There are no rules or expectations, beyond a commitment to yourself to write regularly.

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The benefits of writing in a personal journal

Journaling or expressive writing has multiple benefits, among which the following stand out:

1. Promotes self-awareness and personal development

Expressive writing is also called "therapeutic writing", as it has aspects similar to those that can be achieved through a psychotherapy process.

Writing in a journal is not the same as being in psychotherapy, but both practices can complement each other very well..

Indeed, if you are already in therapy, you can enhance its progress by forming a habit of expressive writing. Now, if you are not in psychotherapy, writing can give you access to some of the benefits of it, by offer the possibility of abstracting from your own experience and seeing it from another perspective, thus giving it a new sense.

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2. mental clarity

Writing is a much more elaborate and precise form of thought than the thought that only occurs in your head, which is very fast and therefore can be chaotic and messy. Instead, writing is much slower (especially if you do it in pencil), which allows you to better articulate the sequence of your ideas, giving it a clearer shape for yourself. Expressive writing helps you organize your thoughts and gain a greater understanding of what happens in your internal and external reality. In other words, it improves cognitive processing.

3. Facilitates emotional regulation

It has been observed that maintaining an expressive writing habit helps to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, which are one of the most recurring reasons for consultation in psychotherapy. However, if you do not suffer from anxiety or depression, important effects of improvement in mood have also been observed, associated with this practice.

4. Reduces stress and improves sleep

Stress, worries, and unresolved issues can disrupt sleep, and lack of sleep worsens stress, creating a vicious cycle. When it comes to reducing stress, it's important to change the way we perceive and evaluate stressful situations. Some interpretations can increase stress, while others can make the situation seem more positive and manageable. Expressive writing is a technique that can help change perception and see the situation from a different perspective.

5. Improves the immune system

Hand in hand with the previous point, there are studies that point in the direction of an improvement in immune function as a result of having an expressive writing habit. It is likely that the positive effect of expressive writing on the defensive system is an indirect result of stress reduction and improved sleep, as both chronic stress and chronic sleep deprivation are known to negatively affect sleep system function immune.

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6. Reduces ruminative thoughts

Having the possibility of externalizing your thoughts and emotions through writing, these no longer go around in circles in your mind with the same persistence and intensity as before. This can also lessen difficulties related to staying or falling asleep.

7. You face your difficulties

Expressive writing helps reduce negative emotion associated with a situation by directing your attention to it and confronting it. It is known that facing uncomfortable situations makes you stronger, braver and able to repeat coping, while avoiding them registers in your memory as dangerous. If you avoid something, you are more likely to avoid it again, but if you confront it, you are more likely to face it again.. Writing in a journal allows you to confront the associated emotion in a more manageable way.

8. Expressive writing helps you reassess the situation

It allows for a more balanced perspective: in fact, there is evidence to suggest that people who write regularly in a newspaper they tend to change the pronouns they use to refer to the situation in which they find themselves. find. For example, if you use the pronoun "I" a lot and take full responsibility for the negative that happens to you, over time you may switch to third person pronouns, indicating that you no longer attribute everything to yourself same. An example: John wrote in his diary about a birthday party where he didn't talk much to anyone and felt isolated.

After writing for a while, he began to see the situation differently, acknowledging that others could also have influenced his lack of participation, for example, talking too much and not asking him for his opinion or encouraging him to participate in the conversations. Also, journaling can help you see your own responsibility for things that happen to you, rather than placing all the blame on others.

How to get started with a Journaling practice

To start journaling, you only need a notebook and a pencil. Choose a time of day that is comfortable and quiet for you, and spend about 10-15 minutes just writing what comes to mind. You can write about what worries you, what makes you happy, what surprises you, what inspires you, what bothers you, what intrigues you, etc. Don't worry about grammar, spelling or consistency, just write non-stop and uncensored.

I suggest writing by hand, rather than digital writing, although it is not a rigid rule. Ultimately you can see what works best for you.

There are also other forms of journaling, which you can apply as needed. Here are some suggestions:

5+5+5

This is a form of emotional processing through expressive writing, especially useful when you are feeling a strong emotion associated with some interpersonal difficulty. It's about writing freely, releasing all the emotion for five minutes, then write the main points of what happens to you, in five sentences. Finally, five words. This exercise can bring a lot of mental clarity.

Gratitude

This form of expressive writing is aimed at paying attention to what you appreciate and appreciate in your life. Can be anything. In the long run, this can make you more receptive to appreciating what works well in your reality, rather than taking it for granted. Cultivating this attitude can improve your overall mood.

brainstorming

This way of doing Journaling consists of write down all possible ideas or solutions for a given problem. It's especially useful when you're dealing with a complex issue, where the best approach is to have a wide variety of possible answers on how to approach the problem.

Contemplation

This is a powerful tool for exploring your deepest thoughts and feelings. By asking yourself meaningful questions, you can gain a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you. The concrete practice consists of asking yourself a question at the top of the page, for example "how can I improve my relationship with my partner?", or "what is the most important thing in life for me? Or perhaps "what are my resources and strengths?". Spend at least 15 minutes preparing your answer.. You can spend several sessions contemplating the same question. By writing down your thoughts and reflections, you may discover patterns you may not have noticed before. Over time, you can better understand your emotional reactions and the situations that cause you stress or anxiety.

In conclusion

Journaling or expressive writing is a simple and accessible activity that can offer multiple benefits for mental and emotional health. To the allow free self-expression without judgmentpromotes self-knowledge and Personal development, improves mental clarity and emotional regulation, reduces stress, improves sleep, strengthens the immune system and decreases ruminative thoughts.

Furthermore, by confronting your difficulties and confronting the negative emotions associated with them, it enables you to better handle uncomfortable situations and cope more effectively. Therefore, if you want to improve your well-being and productivity, consider starting a personal journal and enjoy the benefits that journaling can offer.