Write On!!!: Why Journaling Helps

As a therapist, it feels almost cliché to tell clients to journal, but, believe it or not, it does help! Imagine being able to step inside of your mind. There are hundreds of strips of paper fluttering around above you, and each of them has a thought of yours written on it. Some of the pieces flutter out as quickly as they fluttered in. Some of them get stuck in corners. Some have profitless information while others carry information you could really use. Imagine trying to read all of those pieces of paper as they’re fluttering above you. Probably not easy, right? This is where journaling comes in! What if you were able to reach up and grab those fluttering pieces of paper one by one and anchor them down onto a sturdy surface? Then you’d be able see them. You could even organize and edit the thoughts that are helpful and throw out the ones that aren’t. They could be puzzle pieces that helped you piece together your feelings. You could do so much more with thoughts anchored down than you could with them fluttering around in your head.

There is a science behind the efficacy of journaling. James Pennebaker, a researcher and psychologist with the University of Texas in Austin, has been researching the benefits of journaling and expressive writing. His findings show that when you’re engaged in writing about a difficult experience, you’re activating both your analytical left brain and your creative right brain thus allowing you to utilize your entire brain power to analyze that experience. How awesome is that?!? He also conducted a research experiment involving college students where he asked them to write 20 minutes a day, three times during a two week period about an extremely negative experience. The study found that students in the experimental group had fewer intrusive and avoidant thoughts and improved working memory.

Trauma survivors often suffer from common symptoms such as difficulty with memory and concentration, intrusive, unwanted thoughts, depression, and anxiety. While I don’t believe writing completely cures those symptoms, I have found that it helps. They’re able to anchor their thoughts, organize them, edit the ones that continue to hurt them, and throw away the ones that don’t serve them. It also helps improves productivity in therapy, because they are clear on what they’d like to work on in each session, and it gives them opportunities to process emotions and new thoughts after their sessions. It’s a win-win!!!

So, the next time you find yourself struggling with fluttering thoughts in your head or painful images that just seem to not budge no matter what you do, you might try writing.