{"id":30097,"date":"2016-01-11T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2016-01-11T16:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=30097"},"modified":"2017-07-24T10:40:31","modified_gmt":"2017-07-24T17:40:31","slug":"how-journaling-heals-theres-no-write-way-to-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/how-journaling-heals-theres-no-write-way-to-journal-0111155","title":{"rendered":"How Journaling Heals: There&#8217;s No &#8216;Write&#8217; Way to Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/vintage-journal-and-pen.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-30251\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/vintage-journal-and-pen.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-30251\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-30251 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/vintage-journal-and-pen-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Vintage journal and fountain pen\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" data-id=\"30251\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/vintage-journal-and-pen-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/vintage-journal-and-pen.jpg 725w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Words have power, so it follows that the process of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/learn-about-therapy\/types\/journal-therapy\">journaling<\/a> does, too. It\u2019s a tool I often recommend to the people who see me for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/individual-therapy.html\">therapy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Some situations in which journaling might be helpful include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Feeling overwhelmed: <\/strong>The process of writing down all that\u2019s on your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/mind\">mind<\/a> can help you organize your thoughts and prioritize. Once you identify all that you\u2019re dealing with, you can choose where to focus your time and energy, whether to delegate, and what to delete in the short term.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Feeling overcome by an emotion (anger, frustration, sadness) and not really knowing why:<\/strong> Ever feel a shift within your emotional self and not really be aware of the cause? Putting pen to paper and recounting what came before can help you discover what the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/trigger\">triggers<\/a> may have been. Once you know what precedes emotional turbulence, you can begin to develop strategies for preventing it and coping with it effectively.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Processing grief or loss: <\/strong>Writing can help you recall memories you want to hold on to. It can also help you work through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/learn-about-therapy\/issues\/anger\">anger<\/a> and disappointment associated with loss. Journaling the things you might not have had the chance to say but wish you had can be incredibly therapeutic as well.<br \/>\n<div class=\"content-fatwidget align-right\">\n\t<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/find-therapist.html\" target=\"_blank\">Find a Therapist<\/a><\/h2>\n\t<form action=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/search-redirect.html\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t\t<input required name=\"search[zipcode]\" placeholder=\"Enter ZIP or City\" class=\"inline-input\" type=\"text\" \/>\n\n\n\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" name=\"TOS agreement\" value=\" \" class=\"inline-btn\" title=\"Search\" onclick=\"ga('send', 'event', 'FAT Widget', 'Submit Search', 'Sidebar', {nonInteraction: true});\" \/>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/advanced-search.html\" title=\"Advanced Search\" onclick=\"ga('send', 'event', 'FAT Widget', 'Advanced Search', 'Sidebar', {nonInteraction: true});\" >Advanced Search<\/a>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div><\/li>\n<li><strong>Figuring out next steps:<\/strong> Have a big goal but uncertain how to reach it? We don\u2019t always know the precise path from A to Z, but mapping out the next step or two can be enough to move us in the right direction. The steps that come later will then become apparent.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Discovering themes or patterns in behavior: <\/strong>If you are someone who already journals regularly, you might find, in reviewing what you\u2019ve written, there are things that come up on a regular basis that need to be addressed, or ways in which you respond to situations that you might be able to preempt by being more proactive and aware.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Externalizing negative thoughts and feelings: <\/strong>Writing down \u201cpoisonous\u201d thoughts and feelings can help you feel less controlled and bound by them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Determining how best to communicate with others:<\/strong> Journaling can be means of preparing for what might be a challenging conversation. Writing down precisely what you want to express and how you want to say it can help you collect your thoughts, rehearse, and hold true to your intention when you speak your piece.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sometimes people share that they\u2019ve thought about journaling but never moved forward with it. When I explore why that is, it\u2019s often because they saw it as a chore or obligation, something that had to be done the \u201cright\u201d way.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is no right way to journal. The key is to utilize this tool in the way that will work best for you.<\/p>\n<p>You might choose to buy a beautiful book with empty pages, but you could just as easily grab a notecard, a yellow legal pad, or a piece of printer paper and begin.<\/p>\n<p>You need not worry about writing regularly. There\u2019s no rule that says you have to record things daily. Write when you believe it might serve you, not because of an arbitrary \u201cshould\u201d that you or someone else has placed on you.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"popout-quote-left\" style=\"font-weight: bold; width: 30%; float: left;\">You have the option of sharing what you\u2019ve journaled with others or keeping it private. You decide. You make the rules.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>There is no requirement to write full sentences. You can jot down thoughts as they come to you. You can scribble them all over the page if you want and draw lines connecting those that are related to one another, literally connecting the dots of your thoughts in a deliberate way.<\/p>\n<p>Another therapeutic way to journal is to vent on paper all that you are upset about so that you have a sense of expelling that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/negativity\">negativity<\/a>. Give yourself permission to be as \u201cugly\u201d in these rants as you want so you have the opportunity to empty yourself of toxic thoughts and feelings. Many people resist this at first, fearing others might discover about them what they\u2019ve been trying to hide. In that case, I suggest symbolically ridding yourself of those thoughts and feelings by ripping up the words or shredding them. This act alone can be a powerful one, a moment of triumph over something that was possibly poisoning you from within.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes people struggle to find the words to express themselves accurately. I encourage such people to draw or sketch what comes to mind. Scribble if need be. Let the pen flow over the paper in a way that mimics how you feel. Even choosing your writing tool might be telling\u2014a pencil\u2019s lead that can be erased as though it never was, a ballpoint that moves smoothly, a colorful marker, a thick, permanent Sharpie. You can grab what\u2019s nearby or you can be more deliberate when selecting.<\/p>\n<p>You have the option of sharing what you\u2019ve journaled with others or keeping it private. You decide. You make the rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are many ways to journal, and even more ways journaling\u2014a common therapeutic tool\u2014can help. Here are just some of the ways journaling can benefit you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2944,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[31,318,27],"class_list":["post-30097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured-articles","tag-psychotherapy-practice","tag-journal-therapy","tag-psychotherapy-models"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2944"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30097\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}