Just write!
Journal writing is much more than a record of life – it’s a therapeutic learning tool.

If you could turn back time to one year ago today, could you remember what transformed your mood, the triumph your child proudly shared, the fear you felt so deeply or the new friendship that was just beginning to blossom?

If you could turn back time to just one month ago today, would you realize that you finally let go of a past hurt, achieved a dream or witnessed the prettiest sunset you’ve ever seen?

If you keep a written journal, you can vividly reflect on each of those moments and how your life has since changed.

Personal journal writing is becoming a wildly popular activity that is proving to reduce stress, help achieve goals and even improve emotional, physical and spiritual well-being.

“Journaling represents a pair of eyes. It can help you understand yourself, others and human behavior in general. It gives you a sense of being invested in life,” says Psychologist Ellen K. Baker, Ph.D., Washington, D.C.

Whether it’s done as a private reflection not intended for sharing or kept by the family as an ongoing record of life, the free expression involved in personal journal writing is an ideal way to take inventory of yourself and your feelings, resolve conflicts, make decisions and bring clarity to your life. And that’s what makes personal journal writing a worthwhile habit to develop, according to Eldonna Edwards Bouton, San Luis Obispo, Calif., a lifelong journaler and author of three books on the subject.    

Therapy for the soul

“Many begin a journal at a time of crisis in their lives,” Bouton explains. “These are people who look at a journal not necessarily to keep a record of their thoughts, but who find that writing their private feelings down helps them to find clarity or direction.”

Others, she continues, find writing helps to organize thoughts, such as working toward a particular goal, or serves as a reminder of what they are thankful for.

“Journaling is a way to dump what I call the cosmic trash—all that whiney garbage that rolls around in your head from day to day. By writing it down in your journal, you get it off your chest rather than snap at a loved one,” says Bouton, “It’s darn cheap therapy and can keep you on track with your goals.”

Baker, who has written and led workshops on personal journaling for nearly 20 years, says scientific studies demonstrate the benefits. One such study, “Expressive Writing and Health: Self-regulation of Emotion-related Experience, Physiology and Behavior” by S.J. Lepore, M.A. Greenberg, M. Bruno and J.M. Smyth (2002), reveals that expressive writing appears to “improve regulation of emotional-related experiences, physiological responses and behaviors, which, in turn, can enhance physical and mental health outcomes.”

For those who begin journaling during a time of crisis, the practice can help work through problems that seem overwhelming before thoughts are put on paper. Interestingly, Bouton finds that reviewing life’s challenges and successes in this manner often moves people toward contemplative journal writing that answers even deeper questions about the direction of one’s life.

“In addition, many people find that the more the