personal journaling with red pen. how to journal.

Journaling is something therapists often recommend, depending on their background. Many people are hesitant to start journaling, whether it’s related to a bad experience with a parent finding a diary when you were a child, feeling lost at where to begin, or wondering what the point of journaling even is. My goal here is to break down some of these issues to get at the root of why therapists recommend journaling, why it’s useful, and how to journal.

Why is journaling helpful?

Personally, I’m a big fan of getting things out of our brains and somewhere we can look at it, whether that’s on paper, a screen, a whiteboard, whatever’s accessible to you. Writing things out or making some kind of visual for it can help us look at it more objectively. Our brain is doing a lot, 100% of the time! Trying to think about our thoughts and feelings can easily be just too abstract. The solution? Get it out of your mind.

There is some research looking at the health benefits of journaling, but I’m personally less interested in the physical health side–I’m a therapist, not a doctor! Here are a few reasons why journaling can help your mental health.

Journaling slows you down.

Most of us can think and talk faster than we can write. The pure physical limitation of not being able to write as fast as our mind is racing is one major factor in how journaling helps to slow us down. If you’re trying to work through something stressful or anxiety-provoking, intentionally slowing down while writing may help you recenter yourself. Depending on how you journal, it can be a good alternative to meditation if you’re looking to incorporate more mindfulness.

Journaling helps you process emotions and experiences.

By writing, we can explore our emotions, experiences, and memories in a way that is hard to do internally. Noticing what words you use to describe what’s going on can give you information about what impact it has on you, or it might point you towards a need you have. Being able to recognize our emotions is a powerful skill, and journaling might be a good tool if you struggle to identify your emotions by yourself.

Journaling can help you track symptoms, goals, and patterns.

Depending on what you write about and if you reread previous entries, journaling can help you track things. Did you notice that you always journal about feeling small and ignored after visiting your family? Do you usually feel good after spending some social time with others? Maybe you notice a theme of talking about wanting to work on a new project. If you journal consistently, you may start to notice trends in how things are popping up in your life. More specifically, journaling is great for helping us notice when we’re using negative self-talk and building up our positive self-talk skills. If you notice yourself being very critical–”I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have done this. I know better. I hate myself”--you can more intentionally practice reframing that into positive self-talk–”I made a mistake, but now I know to be more aware of this. I will work harder on this. I will try something different in the future.”

How do you journal?

Methods

Let’s break down the logistics of how to actually journal. I’m a believer that there is no right or wrong way to do it–I just want you to do it! Here are different methods you can try out:

Pen and paper

The stereotypical image that comes to mind for most people when you mention journaling is a nice, maybe leather-bound journal and a high-quality pen. Having special supplies may make the experience feel more special or enjoyable, but you can just use whatever you have lying around. Grab an old notebook from school, loose printer paper, or an old notepad you have lying around. Use whatever writing utensil is close by or comfortable–pen, pencil, hell, even crayons work! Start with whatever you have available to you. If you think a special notebook would make you want to journal more, go for it. (I’m personally in a committed relationship with Moleskine journals.) But the biggest roadblock for people tends to be just starting. Look around right now. Got a sticky note and pen sitting by you? Get to journaling!

Using technology

If you feel more comfortable using technology, you can absolutely journal digitally. You can use journaling apps, which often have other tools embedded in them such as tracking for your mood, habits, or goals. You can write in a document and email it to yourself or write in your phone’s notes app. You can also use your phone or computer to make voice notes and verbally talk through what’s on your mind.

One of the different benefits of using technology for your journal is that you have more privacy options. Privacy concerns tend to be one of the biggest issues people face when keeping a journal. Maybe you don’t feel comfortable keeping a journal at home, and that’s okay! If you’re doing it digitally, you can choose to save it in a secure location or just delete it when you’re done.

journal. creative art journal. — *Using art*

Journaling really doesn’t have to be about words. If you like doing crafts or find it easier to express yourself creatively, do it! Make an art journal or a collage. Paint, sculpt. Color in your journal and draw pictures, doodle! Express yourself however it comes out.

Rules of Journaling

Of course, there are no rules for journaling. It’s only for you, it can be whatever you want. You are not writing for an audience, you are writing for yourself. It’s okay to be messy, use shorthand, write illegibly, doodle, make lists or drawings, scribble, use different colors, do whatever you want. There are some different journaling methods–such as morning pages–that may come with their own guidelines, but there are no overarching rules. I would recommend starting out your exploration with journaling as free-form as possible. If you find out that doesn’t work for you, you always have more options to explore.

How often should you journal?

The default answer for this question tends to be “you should journal every day”, but that doesn’t work for everyone’s lifestyle. If I were your therapist, I would absolutely love to hear that you journal once or twice a week. I think this is plenty of time to get your mind turning and taking on the role of thinking more objectively about your experiences.

That being said, setting a routine or ritual can make a vast difference in the role journaling serves in our life. My ideal routine would be to sit with my journal and my coffee in the morning. Does this happen every day? Absolutely not, but that peaceful image in my mind helps motivate me to do it on the days that feel right. Maybe your routine involves journaling before bed, first thing when you wake up, or when you’re on your lunch break at work. Think about what time might work best for you, then set yourself up to follow through with that plan. Put your journal on your nightstand or in your work bag, and keep a pen with it. If you’re using an app or other virtual service, set a notification or a reminder on your phone. Starting the routine is one of the hardest parts, so take some of those baby steps to get you closer and closer.

How long should I journal for?

Again, there isn’t one right answer here. You can journal for as little as three to five minutes at a time, if that’s what works for you. Ten to twenty minutes seems to be a good sweet spot where you can write a decent amount but it isn’t taking up a huge part of your day. If you’re journaling for longer than a half hour at a time, I may wonder if that’s helpful for you or if it’s leaning more towards rumination. If you’re finding a longer journaling session helpful, though, go for it!

Should I reread what I journaled before?

This is a difficult question to answer without talking through it, and the answer will be different for everyone. Some people find it incredibly helpful to reread old journal entries, and that tends to be where we notice more patterns or are able to say, “Huh! I got through that better than I expected!” If that’s how you notice yourself reacting to your previous writing, then sure! Reread as much as you like.

For others, rereading old journal entries can be triggering and put them back in the headspace of a negative moment. If you notice yourself feeling worse, continuing to think about something from the past, or feeling stuck, rereading may not be a great option for you. It is completely normal and okay to never reread anything you have written before. Remember, it’s all about what works for you.

You can, of course, do a little of both rereading and not rereading! If you tend to like flipping through your journal and rereading parts, it might be helpful to mark sections that you want to avoid reviewing in the future.

What do I journal about?

Ah, the biggest question: “What the hell do I write about?!” My non-answer is that you can write about whatever you want! It’s all for you, it’s whatever you want it to be! That open-endedness may be freeing for some, or be overwhelming if you’re not sure where to get started.

Free write

Free writing is when you just write whatever pops into your head. It can make sense, or it may not. This is my preferred method of journaling because you don’t have to plan or prepare, you just open your journal and start word vomiting. Often times, something sticks out and becomes the focus of your writing. But if that doesn’t happen and it’s a scrambled mess, that’s still okay! Remember that you are only writing for yourself, you don’t need to give all of the details, use complete sentences, or have nice transitions between topics. Just write whatever comes to mind.

Write about your day

Journaling first thing in the morning or right before bed is common, and it often makes sense to people to write about your day. If you’re writing in the morning, you can write about your dreams, how you feel waking up, and your plans or goals for the day. If you are journaling before bed, write about any major events that happened throughout the day, how you feel, upcoming plans, or prepare for the next day. Some people find that writing before going to sleep helps clear their mind so their thoughts are calmer as they try to go to bed. If you’re focused on goals right now, writing about your day may be a good place to start.

Journal prompts

There are tons of places online to find journal prompts with a quick google search, such as here, here, and over here. If you’re using an app, they might have daily prompts built in for you. You can use one specific prompt, answer multiple questions, or just browse through until something pops into your mind to write about. There are also different kinds of guided journals, which have prompts included in them. One popular version is the Burn after Writing journal, which is widely available at big box stores. I would recommend scouting out guided journals in person or trying to see their contents online before purchasing, just to make sure you like it before investing your money.

Write a letter

This option isn’t something you’d probably do every day, but writing a letter to someone can be a great way to journal. You can write a letter to your past self as an update to Younger You, to give forgiveness or understanding, or otherwise support a younger version of yourself. You can write a letter to future you; write about your goals or where you hope to be in five years. Another option is to write a letter to another person. Maybe that’s a friend you lost touch with, a family member who disappointed you, or a celebrity you look up to. This tends to be a more intense practice, but it can be very powerful.

Conclusion

I hope that this has helped break down what journaling can look like and be a reference for your practice. The main takeaway I hope you get out of this is realizing that journaling can be completely unique to you. The point of it is that it works for you, so do it however you want!