BREAKOUT: Journaling
Journaling (or, as we used to call it, “keeping a diary”) has gained in popularity in the last decade. Whether it’s being used to keep track of your schedule, manage projects, or as a space for your drawings, there are numerous systems available on the market, whether it’s journals with specially designed pages for different kinds of tasks or a method for creating your own methods on the fly (also known as Bullet Journaling).
Journaling can be used in your self-care journey in two ways. First, it’s a great place to keep track of ideas for self-care, as well as to create your own. If you’re already keeping a journal, we encourage you to consider setting aside a few pages for self-care, including noting what worked and what didn’t. We like the ideas in this post (1), but please let us know if you have any others.
The second use may be more surprising. Under the right conditions, it has been shown that writing about distressing experiences has significant health benefits, including lower cortisol levels, improved sleep, and a stronger immune system. (2) One explanation is that the act of writing helps people organize their thoughts about experiences they’ve been through, making them less distressing or traumatic. A simpler explanation may be one offered by author Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way: “It is very difficult to complain about a situation morning after morning, month after month, without being moved to constructive action.”
As is the case with everything in this course, journaling is neither a panacea for everyone nor a substitute for therapy. Studies have shown that people who experience the most benefits from writing are those who are able to gain meaning and perhaps perspective from distressing memories (3). If journaling doesn’t offer you the kind of relief you’re looking for, please feel free to leave it and pursue a more satisfying activity.
Back: Meditation
Next: Humor (A Pillar of Joy)
Journaling can be used in your self-care journey in two ways. First, it’s a great place to keep track of ideas for self-care, as well as to create your own. If you’re already keeping a journal, we encourage you to consider setting aside a few pages for self-care, including noting what worked and what didn’t. We like the ideas in this post (1), but please let us know if you have any others.
The second use may be more surprising. Under the right conditions, it has been shown that writing about distressing experiences has significant health benefits, including lower cortisol levels, improved sleep, and a stronger immune system. (2) One explanation is that the act of writing helps people organize their thoughts about experiences they’ve been through, making them less distressing or traumatic. A simpler explanation may be one offered by author Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way: “It is very difficult to complain about a situation morning after morning, month after month, without being moved to constructive action.”
As is the case with everything in this course, journaling is neither a panacea for everyone nor a substitute for therapy. Studies have shown that people who experience the most benefits from writing are those who are able to gain meaning and perhaps perspective from distressing memories (3). If journaling doesn’t offer you the kind of relief you’re looking for, please feel free to leave it and pursue a more satisfying activity.
Back: Meditation
Next: Humor (A Pillar of Joy)