How Journaling Can Be Therapeutic

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable mental illness. More than 25 percent of college students have been diagnosed or treated by a professional for a mental health condition within the past year.

I got was diagnosed with ADHD in 6th grade and then depression later on so my mind has always been cluttered and unpredictable. Journaling has helped me express my emotions and relieve the negativity from my mind. It has helped me organize my thoughts into concrete ideas and has made me understand myself better. Journaling can have a profound effect on your on mental health and can significantly impact your life. Whether you’re suffering from depression, an eating disorder, ADD, bipolar disorder and even schizophrenia. Journaling can help you grow, heal, and thrive in life.

1. Journaling fosters self-awareness and introspection

According to The Therapeutic Use of Journaling with Adolescents by Allison Utley, the use of journaling as a counseling intervention is a “creative way to engage clients in a therapeutic activity that can lead to greater self-awareness and growth, both during session and in between sessions.” Journaling helps you become more aware of your actions and thought processes. By writing routinely you will get to know what makes you feel happy and confident. You will also become clear about situations and people who are toxic for you. All of this is important information for your emotional well-being.

2. Journaling helps you become more aware of your triggers

Being aware of your triggers can help you learn better ways to cope with your problems. According to Sandy Grason, author of Journalution: Journaling to Awaken Your Inner Voice, Heal Your Life and Manifest Your Dreams, journaling is an overall proficient method to simply get to know yourself better. I believe each time you give yourself fully to the blank page, you get a little bit closer to your true self. It’s the place that your greatness can whisper to you and remind you of all that you came to this earth to be.”

3. Journaling lets go of clutter and organizes your thoughts

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way, A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, suggests a writing exercise she calls "The Morning Papers." Take three sheets of paper each day and with pen or pencil just start writing. It involves a stream of consciousness. It doesn't matter what words or phrases you write down. It doesn't matter if your sentence structure or grammar is poor. Never mind misspellings. It doesn't matter. When your life feels chaotic and all over the place, writing can help organize your thoughts and find the root of your problems. Writing helps us track our spinning thoughts and feelings, which can lead to key insights, and can also organize our cluttered mind

Writing is speaking to another consciousness—we discover our self in the present of the moment. Writing also creates a mind-body-spirit connection, “When you use your hands to pen or type something directly from your brain, you are creating a powerful connection between your inner experience and your body’s movement out in the world.”

4. Journaling relieves stress

Keeping your thoughts bottled up can cause lots of unnecessary stress. Writing about your problems can help you work through your problems and allow you to look at the situation objectively. In a 2011 study published in the journal Science, scientists proved this by comparing students who wrote down their exam worries before taking the big test and those who didn’t. What they discovered was that those who used a journal were better able to ease their anxieties.

Journaling can have a profound effect on your mental health. It promotes self-awareness, helps you declutter your mind and organize your thoughts, promotes positive thoughts, and relieves stress. So next time you feel down or stressed, take a pen and paper and just write. You’ll be surprised at how better you’ll feel after.