Do you think you have already gotten over keeping a diary? That it is just for teenagers writing about their crushes and slash-wrists-poetry? Well, Daily Telegraph has to tell you that keeping a journal and writing on a regular basis might actually help you a lot in coping with stress and anxiety, and even trauma.
There are actually a handful of benefits that come from putting our thoughts and feelings on a page on a regular basis. Professor Jamie Pennebaker of University of Texas at Austin carried out a research entitled Writing to Heal and found out that documenting our deepest feelings about our emotional struggles can not only help us deal with them, but it can also improve our invulnerability and help us sleep better.
Dr. Cindy Nour of MindFrame Psychology relates that there are actually a lot of evidences showing that writing about something that is difficult through a trauma can help us process some of the emotions. Writing helps us get perspective on our thinking. Dr. Nour actually sees great progress as she often asks her clients who have experienced trauma to record their feelings on a daily basis. She notices that her patients usually write about how painful their experiences are and how distressed they feel. Keeping a worry time journal also helps the patients avoid irrational concerns affect their day. Dr. Nour adds that writing about your day can actually help you learn more about yourself because as we write, we ask ourselves what we are thinking. In this way, we are increasing awareness about ourselves. It is also important to take note that when we are writing on our journals, we do not have to be conscious and worried about punctuations or anything that may censor our thoughts.
Here are some tips shared by Dr. Nour for journal writing:
- Find a time and place where you will not be disturbed
- Write continuously for at least 20 minutes
- Do not worry about spelling or grammar
- Write only for yourself
