Joys of Journaling

A few minutes makes a difference

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Many years ago, when I was a searching and fairly confused 14-year-old, I began to keep a diary. I found a large, hardback ledger book with 200 lined, blank pages, ready for my innermost thoughts. It gave me a secret place to record my experiences. Many years later I reviewed my musings. Stories of athletic strivings, complaints about friends, spiritual commitments which I vowed would last a lifetime, and—would you believe perhaps a subject with more words than any other—girls. I was not a teenage literary prodigy.

Modern science has found that journal keeping can do far more for our lives than just being a record of this event or that special occasion. We can enhance our well-being by keeping a journal of our thoughts, feelings and actions.

The most helpful diary is called a therapeutic journal. This specialized practice has been shown in numerous studies to be beneficial. The scientific work began with a New Jersey psychiatrist, Dr. Ira Progoff. He directed his patients to write extremely detailed narratives of their lives, dreams, and insights. Many were helped and the idea spread. Today, a majority of mental health professionals use journal writing to develop self-awareness and promote growth. Conditions like depression, PTSD, anxiety, adjustment disorders and others are addressed with journal therapy and the guidance of a mental health professional.

I talk to my counseling clients about the development of self-awareness as they reflect on events and, more importantly, their emotions and thought patterns. Writing often releases emotions long buried in memories. Reviewing entries across the months past can reveal patterns of behavior that are blocking progress. Insights can emerge that are life changing!

Psychologist James Pennebacker studied expressive writing. He reported evidence that writing about traumatic experiences for as little as 15-20 minutes a day can produce measurable results in physical and mental health.