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As I dove into the world of journaling, I realized it was much more than simply writing down what you did that day or looking up some prompts on Pinterest. Many books have been written about the art of getting our thoughts on paper – some focus on general tools and others focus on specific aspects of journaling – like journaling about trauma or our future selves.   

Considering the volumes available, an article clearly cannot do the topic full justice. My goal here is to get you started – give you the tools you need to start journaling today, if that is your wish. At the end, you’ll also see suggested resources depending on what areas of journaling are of most interest to you.  Part 2 covers various journaling techniques and provides a list of prompts to get you started.  

What is Journaling 

Journaling is the act of putting thoughts and emotions down on paper. But every journal is unique to its owner. You can handwrite in a two-dollar spiral bound notebook with a blue bic pen, or you can type on a Mac book pro. You can create lists, or journal in long prose, write in black ink, or change colors every line, use blank paper and decorate it with magazine pictures, stickers, and markers, or use solidly lined pages. How you journal and what tools you use are up to you (resources of course follow). What is important is that it works for you.  

How Journaling Helps 

There are a myriad of ways that journaling can help manage depression, anxiety, and life changes. For the purposes of this article, I’ll discuss three categories of journaling – Trauma and Depression, our Future Selves, and General Journaling.

Trauma

Dr. James Pennebaker leads the research on the topic of journaling about trauma. He uses what is called expressive writing in his studies where he asks (often college students) to write for 15-30 minutes on four consecutive days about their deepest thoughts on an emotional issue. He has found that students who go through the exercise report long term improvement in mood, reduced stress, better immune systems (shown by reduced visits to the health center), and better grades. These benefits translate across gender, culture, and age. There are two main ways writing about trauma is thought to benefit the healing process. First, it reduces inhibition. The assumption is that by not talking about an experience, we are inhibiting it, and when we actually process the trauma, we are better able to heal. Second, our memories of these experiences are often stored in bits and pieces. When we write about these experiences, we organize our thoughts and put them into a logical structure, which makes the experience much easier to process. It is also a safe way to cope with upsetting experiences. 

Depression 

While the research specifically on journaling for depression is not robust, there are a handful of studies that show promising results. One study looked at 40 people with major depressive disorder and asked them to write about an emotional event. After the writing, and one month later, there was a significant reduction in depressive scores. Some studies have shown benefits even six months later.  

Future Selves 

We don’t have to only write about the past or present – our dreams and goals for the future can be explored as well. When we write about what we want our future to look like, whether we are looking at next week, next year, or 10 years from now, we get to imagine different possibilities for our lives and those dreams become a little more real in our minds. The more real those dreams become in our minds, the more likely they are to come to fruition. We get to try on different possibilities, imagine different behaviors, and see dreams come to life on the page. And notably for depression – writing about the future can increase our sense of optimism.  

General Journaling  

Journaling itself can have many benefits. It forces us to be still and to process the myriad of thoughts we have each day. Often, our thoughts come in bits and fragments and when we write we are forced to follow those fragments to completion. This process, and the basic act of writing, helps to cut down on the chaos and simplify things, helping it all to feel a little more manageable. Problems often just appear simpler once out on paper. Additionally, journaling helps us by: 

  • Preserving our favorite memories, which helps to enhance any experience, and allows us to later revisit in detail those favored times.  
  • Celebrating our successes.  
  • Training our brains. Our brains are very susceptible to the messages we send. Through our journals we can use positive self-talk and retrain our brain to orient towards the positive. We can also use our journal to write about positive outcomes and show our brains that good things can happen. When we prime our brain for success and open it up to new possibilities, we end up behaving more in line with what makes that success possible.  
  • Addressing problems. Problems and distracting thoughts will call out for attention until we address them. Journaling allows us to confront those problems, sort through them, and identify immediate actions to take.  
  • Making things seem accessible. Goals and actions often seem more real and doable after we write them down.  
  • Helping us prioritize – whether that be our life goals, actions steps to take, concerns we have, or another important element. 
  • Creating clarity for decision making. 

Logistics 

Then there are the simple logistics with journaling that make it an easily accessible tool. It’s cheap – you just need pen and paper. It doesn’t take long – the suggestion is often 3-4 times a week for 20 minutes. It’s portable so you can journal in your bed, at the park, and while on vacation. And you can use it as a tool on good days and not so good days.  

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself”

Rumi

How to Journal  

How do you journal? You show up and you write. And you show up again and write some more. That’s the basics. But, of course, there are some additional thoughts on that. In general, the one and only “rule” that multiple authors mention is to record the date each time you write. Beyond that, your journal is yours – do what works for you. Try out different techniques, mediums, and places to write.  

What you write 

What you write and how you write are all up to you. Experiment with different techniques – poetry, prose, lists, mind maps – these are all beautiful in their own way. Your journal may evolve over time as you use different approaches in different situations. You don’t need to know what you are going to say before you start. We often write in order to figure out what we want to say. A couple other tips that may help: 

  • Write for your eyes only. Sometimes we pick and choose our words if writing for someone else.  
  • Write honestly.  
  • Writing about trivial topics, or writing with a lot of negativity, are not shown to be very helpful. Instead, especially if writing about trauma, write detailed accounts and about the feelings and emotions felt.  
  • It may help to find a few quiet moments before starting – maybe by listening to a favorite song or inhaling a favorite scent.  
  • If you find yourself spinning out of control on a topic, use a containment strategy. You can set a clock for 3 minutes or draw a box on a page – no journaling outside the box.  
  • If you are not ready to write about a topic, then don’t. It’s ok. You’ll write about it when you are ready.  
  • Focus on things you have control over. For instance, you can’t dictate how your overbearing sister-in-law will behave at Thanksgiving dinner. But you can control who else you talk to, how you respond, or what you choose to do the next day without family.  

A great way to wrap up a journaling session is the reflection write. You read what you have just written and write a reflection on it. Reflection writes often start with “As I read this I – am aware of, notice that, was surprised by…” Reflection writes help us notice what is happing and can often lead to immediate insight.  

For specific techniques and prompts, see Part 2. But again, the only way to journal is to show up, be present, and start writing.  

How Often to Write

How often do we need to journal, and at what length, in order to reap the benefits? I think that depends on who you ask. Pennebaker, who has studied journaling about trauma, focuses on using journal writing for a brief period (usually four days), and then closing up the notebook. He advices using journaling when you need to. Others focus on making writing a habit – at least 3x a week, for anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. The nice thing about journaling daily is it removes the negotiating and questioning. You don’t have to ask yourself if today is a day to journal, because every day is a day to journal. Which approach you choose is, of course, up to you. Should you want to journal daily, here are a few tips for incorporating a new habit: 

  • Think about how to make journaling enjoyable for you. If it’s enjoyable, and if you are getting something out of it, you are more likely to show up. 
  • Don’t think of journaling as something you do after everything else is done – it is one of the things you do.  
  • James Clear has written an excellent book on creating habits called Atomic Habits. Not to send you down a separate rabbit hole, but it is a great resource on building any type of new habit (and eliminating bad ones). A few tips that stood out to me: 
    • Pick the smallest action possible where your reaction is “that’s so easy why wouldn’t I do it?” For example, start journaling for just a minute a day and go up from there each week. The point here is to get used to showing up. Then you can focus on perfecting the habit.  
    • Tie journaling to another habit you already do – for instance, “After I make coffee in the morning, I will sit down to journal”, or “After I brush my teeth in the evening, I will journal for 10 minutes.” 
    • Prime your workspace – if it takes five minutes to pull out your journal, clear off a table, find your pen, move a chair, etc., you are less likely to start. Make it easy to start.  
    • Pair journaling with something else you already enjoy – for example, “After I journal for 10 minutes, I will read my novel for 20 minutes” 
    • Don’t worry about perfection. Just write.  
  • Remember that journaling isn’t something you “have” to do, or “should” do. Journaling is an activity you “GET” to do.  

Where to Write 

Where you write can have a big impact on how you think. Pick a place where you feel safe and comfortable.  

What to Expect as You Write 

Be patient with yourself as you write. Don’t judge yourself or expect massive transformation overnight. Know that you may feel a full spectrum of emotions as you write – take them as they come. Take care of yourself as you write, whatever that means for you (hot baths, meditation, walks with a loved one). Experiment with different techniques and approaches and allow the process to evolve to suit you at any given time. While some people will use journaling for a few days to process a trauma or massive change in life, many will use it over time as a continual process of discovery. What matters is that you are getting out of journaling what you want to. If at any point you are not getting the results you want, try a different approach – journaling at a different time of day, using different techniques (outlined more in part 2), journaling for different lengths of time.  

It’s also important to take action. Journaling can be a powerful tool in our toolbox, but it is just one tool of many. Sometimes the tool we need is action – having a difficult conversation (not just writing about it), leaving an unhealthy situation, etc. If the underlying situation needs to change, writing alone can’t change that.   

The “Don’ts” List

While I’d rather focus on the positive sounding “Do’s” rather than the negative “Don’ts”, in her book Writing as a Way of Healing, Louise DeSalvo has a great list of Don’ts that she gleaned from Pennebaker’s work that are worth repeating here: 

  • Don’t use writing as a substitute for taking action 
  • Don’t use writing as a way of complaining  
  • Don’t overanalyze  
  • Don’t use writing as a substitute for therapy or medical care 

Tools of the Trade  

I don’t think the debate over which is better – pen and paper, or computer, has yet been resolved. Many advocate for the non-technological approach and there many benefits – there is a lot more freedom with paper. It’s easier to create mind maps, scribble notes in the margins, circle thoughts to call out, use color, and decorate your pages. You can choose lined pages, or unlined and give yourself even more room for experimentation. That being said, if journaling on a computer works best for you – then go for it.  

Personally, I loved my handwritten journal…for awhile. But eventually I realized I could focus more on what I was writing when my hand wasn’t cramped and I wasn’t thinking about how much of the page I had filled.  

For the handwritten path:

  • For a longtime, I loved my discbound journal as it gave me freedom to have different sections and move my pages around.
  • Dotted pages worked great for me, or you could try lined or blank.
  • Washi tape is a great way to decorate your journal, or reinforce pages.
  • Personally I love fine tipped blue and black pens.
  • And for a little art and decoration you could use colored pens or some stencils. 

For the digital path: 

Personally, I love typing on my computer and use OneNote to organize my journal sections. Here’s a great intro video to OneNote. It approaches using OneNote more from a work perspective, but the concept is the same. Obsidian and Notion are also great options.  Since these sync to the cloud I can access my journal on multiple devices, which means when I travel I use my tablet and keyboard.

When I want to create a digital mind map, I use Miro or MindMup (both free), although a stylus and tablet also work great.  

Journaling and Therapy 

Therapy is a fabulous resource and one that I am a big advocate for in the right circumstances. However, some people may view journaling as a substitute for therapy, which I want to caution against. While some studies have compared talking with journaling and found similar benefits, we have to remember that therapy offers things that journaling cannot – a sympathetic ear, advice, the comfort that you are not alone. If therapy is helpful, journaling is best seen as a complementary tool. You can write down notes and advice from your therapist to review later. If you find yourself wanting to talk to your therapist in between sessions you can write out a dialogue with him/her. You can journal about the therapy session itself and the work you are doing which may help you make the most of the next session.    

Our Brains Change  

Our brains are amazing. And they are not static – they can and do change as a result of both our experiences, and how we personally direct our focus and attention. This is referred to as neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to change and adapt. We have about 100 billion neurons which communicate with each other via synapses – the gaps between those neurons. As we learn new things and have unique experiences, some of those connections are strengthened while others are eliminated. At times, we can actually create new connections and sometimes even new neurons. There are a variety of things we can do to affect brain change – learn something new, travel somewhere different, get good rest, exercise, etc. Journaling can also help by directing our thoughts. How we choose to focus our attention will change which connections are strengthened – for instance repeatedly thinking about what we are grateful for will nourish different connections compared to continually thinking negative thoughts. And, when we write out those thoughts (as opposed to just thinking them) our brain has more time to soak it in.  

This means we can influence our brains by how we direct our attention. When we journal about our dreams for the future, we show our brains possibility and hope. When we journal about who we are, we reinforce those beliefs – positive or negative. When we journal about who we want to be, we begin to change how we perceive ourselves – and thereby change ourselves. This is why intentional journaling can have real effects in a short period of time. We choose how we direct our attention and the stories we tell ourselves and hence change the current and future narrative.   This also means that we can override negativity. We can write positively about a negative experience – maybe a lesson learned, a positive way we changed, a positive effect on a relationship. When we tie a positive outcome with a negative experience, we begin to hold these two aspects together, which means that when we later recall the negativity, there is also an element of positivity that emerges. Just remember that the absence of negative does not equal positive – saying that your vacation was “Not bad” does not mean that you had a great time, and in fact your brain focuses more on the “bad” part of that phrase. You would want to focus on your vacation having been “relaxing”, or “enjoyable”, or “adventurous”. 

Journaling with Others 

We don’t have to journal in isolation. Many people enjoy journaling with others – whether it’s over zoom with a single friend or meeting a journal writing group at a local coffee shop. Journaling with others helps us find community, decreases our isolation, and builds connection with others. A regular meeting also helps us to be more consistent with our writing. And while sharing should never be obligatory, we can learn a lot from those who do choose to share.  

Whether you call up an old friend to see if they would like to journal with you, or you join a group, it’s important to set some ground rules – where and when you will meet, how often, and for how long. The most important piece is that everyone involved is committed to showing up and writing.  

The group can also establish ground rules for interacting with each other and how to offer feedback when someone chooses to share. When we listen to others’ journal writings, we do so not to offer praise and critique on the actual writing, but to hear the story they are telling. We can affirm to that person the strength he displayed, we can offer him a caring presence, and we can ask questions that might help her fill in gaps in her narrative that she couldn’t see were there.  

If you are interested in joining a group, Facebook and Meetup are great places to start.  

Bottom Line 

Our brains can and do change in response to our thoughts and experiences, which is one way journaling can help us process trauma, paint our future, and organize our thoughts. Pull out a pen (or laptop), date your page, and begin writing. Write out the details, and the emotions you feel, write the negative thoughts, but look also for the positive. Finish your writing with a reflection. Whether you choose to write for a few days to process an event or you come to your journal day after day, I hope you find insight and clarity.  

For additional journaling techniques and prompts, please see Part 2.  

Credits

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Sources