Stress Management (PDF) Depression, Anxiety, and 83 ......Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF) 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 1/30

Home Blog Shop Free PDF

14 MAY 2018 CREATIVITY 4 COMMENTS

Home » Writing Therapy » 83 Benefits of Journaling forDepression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

83 Benefits of Journaling forDepression, Anxiety, andStress Management (PDF)

“Writing in a journal reminds youof your goals and of your learningin life. It offers a place where youcan hold a deliberate, thoughtful

Search

Type keywords...

Body & Brain (17)

Book Reviews (12)

Certification &Degrees (10)

Coaching &Application (24)

Compassion (13)

EmotionalIntelligence (7)

Events (12)

Experts &Scientists (22)

Categories

Sharing is caring. TweetShare 498

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 2/30

conversation with yourself.” –Robin S. Sharma

You might picture a tween girl, laying on her bedwith her feet waving lazily through the air andwriting about her crush in a pink diary when youthink of “journaling.”

The word often has that connotation for adults:the sense that it’s for young people who aretrying to figure out who they are and deal withintense emotions and hormones.

While it can certainly be helpful for thosepurposes, journaling is not exclusively for teensand tweens—it’s for anyone who can write!

Simply putting words on a page will probablynot get you all the benefits of journaling, buteffective journaling can result in many positiveoutcomes and improvements to your quality oflife.

This article contains:

What is Effective Journaling?

The Scientific Research onJournal/Writing Therapy

How Can Students Benefit fromJournaling in and Out of theClassroom?

30 Tips, Prompts, and Exercises forJournaling (PDF)

Gratitude (10)

Happiness & SWB(21)

Meaning & Values(14)

Meditation (7)

Mindfulness (24)

Optimism &Mindset (15)

Positive CBT (15)

Positive Education(14)

Positive Emotions(16)

Positive News (17)

PositivePsychologyArticles (33)

Positive Workplace(20)

Relationships &Communication(13)

Resilience &Coping (22)

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 3/30

A Take Home Message

References

The Positive Psychology Toolkit

Become a Science-Based Practitioner!

The Positive Psychology toolkit is ascience-based, online platform containing200+ exercises, activities, interventions,questionnaires, assessments and scales.

What is Effective Journaling?

Effective journaling is a journaling practice thathelps you meet your goals or improves yourquality of life. This can look different for eachand every person, and the outcomes can varywidely, but they are almost always very positive.

Journaling can be effective for many differentreasons and help you reach a wide range of

Strengths & Virtues(21)

The Self (26)

Therapies (35)

Writing Therapy (6)

Like us onFacebook!

Be the first of your friends

Positive PsPositive PsPositive Ps124,527 likes124,527 likes124,527 likes

Like Page

ResilieSkills,FactorandStrategof theResiliePerson20 Jan2019

20Best

Recent Posts

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 4/30

goals. It can help you clear your head, makeimportant connections between thoughts,feelings, and behaviors, and even buffer orreduce the effects of mental illness!

How Can We Use Writing to Increase MentalHealth?

“Whether you’re keeping a journalor writing as a meditation, it’s thesame thing. What’s important isyou’re having a relationship withyour mind.” – Natalie Goldberg

You might be wondering how writing in a journalcan have a significant impact on your mentalhealth. After all, it’s just putting some words ona page—how much can that really do for you?

It turns out that this simple practice can do quitea bit, especially for those struggling with mentalillness or striving towards more positive mentalhealth.

Journaling requires the application of theanalytical, rational left side of the brain; whileyour left hemisphere is occupied, your righthemisphere (the creative, touchy-feely side) isgiven the freedom to wander and play(Grothaus, 2015)! Allowing your creativity toflourish and expand can be cathartic and makea big difference in your daily well-being.

Overall, journaling/expressive writing has beenfound to:

ResilieBooksaBookSelectforCreatinMentaTough19 Jan2019

The13BestHappinTEDTalksonYouTub18 Jan2019

Self-TherapforAnxietandDepres(inclQuesti+PDF)17 Jan2019

Resiliein theWorkpHowto BeMoreResilie

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 5/30

Boost your mood/affect

Enhance your sense of well-being

Reduce symptoms of depression before animportant event (like an exam)

Reduce intrusion and avoidance symptomspost-trauma

Improve your working memory (Baikie &Wilhelm, 2005)

In particular, journaling can be especially helpfulfor those with PTSD or a history of trauma. It’shypothesized that writing works to enhance ourmental health through guiding us towardsconfronting previously inhibited emotions(reducing the stress from inhibition), helping usprocess difficult events and compose a coherentnarrative about our experiences, and possiblyeven through repeated exposure to the negativeemotions associated with traumatic memories(i.e., “extinction” of these negative emotions;Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005).

Even for those without a traumatic experience towork through, we have a good idea of howwriting can enhance our mental health. Forinstance, we know it can make us more aware(and self-aware!) and help us detect sneaky,unhealthy patterns in our thoughts andbehaviors. It allows us to take more control overour lives and puts things in perspective. Further,it can help us shift from a negative mindset to amore positive one, especially about ourselves(Robinson, 2017).

atWork16 Jan2019

Download These 3 PoPsychology Exercises

Positive Psycholo

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 6/30

However, to have a positive impact on mentalhealth, we need to be sure that we have anappropriate method. Simply doing a “braindump” of words on the page may feel good inthe moment, but there’s little evidence that it willincrease your well-being or decrease yoursymptoms of depression.

Baikie and Wilhelm (2005) offer the following tipsto ensure your journaling is constructive,gleaned from their comprehensive overview ofthe literature:

1. Write in a private and personalized spacethat is free from distractions.

2. Write at least three or four times, and aim forwriting consecutively (i.e., at least once eachday).

3. Give yourself some time to reflect andbalance yourself after writing.

4. If you’re writing to overcome trauma, don’tfeel obligated to write about a specifictraumatic event—journal about what feelsright in the moment.

5. Structure the writing, however, feels right toyou.

6. Keep your journal private; it’s for your eyesonly—not your spouse, not your family, notyour friends, not even your therapist(although you can discuss your experiencewith your therapist, of course!).

Another good set of guidelines on effectivejournaling can be found on the Center for

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 7/30

Journal Therapy website. When you journal,remember the simple acronym: WRITE!

W – What do you want to write about? Thinkabout what is going on in your life, yourcurrent thoughts and feelings, what you’restriving towards or trying to avoid right now.Give it a name and put it all on paper.

R – Review or reflect on it. Take a fewmoments to be still, calm your breath, andfocus. A little mindfulness or meditationcould help in this step. Try to start sentenceswith “I” statements like “I feel…”, “I want…”,and “I think…” Also, try to keep them in thepresent tense, with sentence stems like“Today…”, “Right now…”, or “In thismoment…”

I – Investigate your thoughts and feelingsthrough your writing. Just keep going! If youfeel you have run out of things to write or yourmind starts to wander, take a moment to re-focus (another opportunity for mindfulnessmeditation!), read over what you have justwritten, and continue on.

T – Time yourself to ensure that you write forat least 5 minutes (or whatever your currentgoal is). Write down your start time and theprojected end time based on your goal at thetop of your page. Set a timer or alarm to gooff when the time period you have set it up.

E – Exit strategically and with introspection.Read what you have written and take amoment to reflect on it. Sum up yourtakeaway in one or two sentences, startingwith statements like “As I read this, I

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 8/30

notice…”, “I’m aware of…”, or “I feel…” If youhave any action items or steps you would liketo take next, write them down now (Adams,n.d.).

Now you have an idea of how to get started withyour journal, but you might need a little moreconvincing on the benefits. If so, read on to learnabout the science behind journaling and journaltherapy!

The Scientific Research onJournal/Writing Therapy

There is a ton of evidence out there on theoutcomes of journal writing therapy, and overallthis evidence points to its effectiveness inhelping people identify and accept theiremotions, manage their stress, and ease thesymptoms of mental illness.

It has even been shown to impact physical well-being; avid journal writer and journalist MichaelGrothaus notes that there are studies suggestingjournaling can strengthen the immune system,drop blood pressure, help you sleep better, andgenerally keep you healthier (2015).

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 9/30

There are also other, more specific benefits forpeople struggling with a wide range of issues.

Can Journaling Help Manage Depression?

Yes! Journaling has been shown to be effectivein helping people manage their depressivesymptoms. Journaling is no substitute forprofessional guidance when the depression isparticularly severe, but it can complement otherforms of treatment or act as a stand-alonesymptom management tool for those with milddepression.

Here’s just a sampling of the evidence forjournaling’s effectiveness in managingdepression:

Expressive writing can reduce symptoms ofdepression in women who are struggling withthe aftermath of intimate partner violence(Koopman, Ismailji, Holmes, Classen, Palesh,& Wales, 2005).

Writing in a journal may also be as effectiveas cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) forreducing symptoms of depression in high-riskadolescents (Stice, Burton, Bearman, &Rohde, 2006).

Expressive journaling may not reduce thefrequency of intrusive thoughts in depressedindividuals, but it moderates their impact ondepressive symptoms, leading to a reductionin symptoms (Lepore, 1997).

Journaling can help college students who arevulnerable to depression reduce theirbrooding and rumination, two contributing

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 10/30

factors of depressive symptoms (Gortner,Rude, & Pennebacker, 2006).

In general, people diagnosed with MajorDepressive Disorder reported significantlylower depression scores after three days ofexpressive writing, 20 minutes per day(Krpan, Kross, Berman, Deldin, Askren, &Jonides, 2013).

Overall, the benefits of journaling and expressivewriting for those suffering from depression arepretty clear: it gives them the opportunity torelease pent-up negative emotions, keeps themin a more positive frame of mind, and helpsthem build a buffer between their negativethoughts and their sense of well-being.

11 Benefits of Journaling for Anxiety

“For me, writing is a way ofthinking. I write in a journal a lot.I’m a very impatient person, sowriting and meditation allow meto slow down and watch my mind;they are containers that keep me inplace, hold me still.” – Ruth Ozeki

Journaling can also help people suffering fromanxiety disorders. Like depression, the positiveoutcomes are well-documented for this purpose.In fact, compared to many other aims whenjournaling, it is extremely well-suited to helpingyou deal with anxiety.

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 11/30

Why is it so beneficial for anxiety?

According to psychologist Barbara Markway,

“There’s simply no better way tolearn about your thought processesthan to write them down.”

She notes that to address our problematicthought patterns, we first have to actually knowwhat they are! Journaling is instrumental inhelping us identify our negative automatic self-talk and get to the root of our anxiety.

Writing in a journal can positively impact youranxiety through:

Calming and clearing your mind.

Releasing pent-up feelings and everydaystress.

Letting go of negative thoughts.

Exploring your experiences with anxiety.

Writing about your struggles and yoursuccesses.

Enhancing your self-awareness and teachingyou about your triggers.

Track your progress as you undergotreatment (Star, 2018).

Through mechanisms like those listed above,journaling has been shown to:

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 12/30

Reduce anxiety in patients with multiplesclerosis (Hasanzadeh, Khoshknab, & Norozi,2012).

Reduce physical symptoms, health problems,and anxiety in women (LaClaire, 2008).

Help students manage their stress andanxiety and improve their engagement andenhance meaning found in the classroom(Flinchbaugh, Moore, Chang, & May, 2012).

As you may have guessed, the benefits ofjournaling naturally extend to more generalstress management as well as anxiety.

11 Benefits of Journaling for StressManagement

Journaling is also an excellent method foranyone who simply wants to manage theirstress, perhaps to keep it from pushing themwell into the realm of anxiety and depression.

Keeping a journal can help you fully explore youremotions, release tension, and fully integrateyour experiences into your mind (Scott, 2018).Further, it can help you work on reducingspecific sources of stress or aid you in reaching

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 13/30

an important goal (perhaps reducing your overallstress?).

Besides the outcomes listed above, journalingcan also help you manage your stress through:

Decreasing symptoms of various healthconditions

Improving your cognitive functioning.

Strengthening your immune system.

Examining your thoughts and shifting yourperspective.

Reducing rumination and promoting action.

Planning out your options and consideringmultiple outcomes of a situation (Scott, 2018).

Journaling can help with general sources ofstress, but it is also a valuable tool foraddressing issues and reducing stress frommore specific problems.

The Importance of Journaling in Recovery

Whatever event, habit, or disorder you arestruggling to overcome, journaling can help youfind healing.

If you are suffering in the aftermath of atraumatic event, journaling can help you findthe good in life. It can even help you see thepositive side of experiencing the trauma, whichhelps reduce the severe symptoms that canaccompany trauma (Ullrich & Lutgendorf, 2002).

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 14/30

If you are grappling with an eating disorder,journal writing can be a huge source of relief andhealing. Keeping a journal can help you stopdistancing yourself from your issues, encourageyou to confront your problems head-on, andreduce the obsessive component of yourdisorder (Rabinor, 1991).

If you are struggling with a debilitatingpsychiatric condition, journaling can help youget your thoughts down on paper and stopruminating and worrying over them. This canfree up your mind to manage your emotions andcope with stress that could trigger a relapse(Provencher, Gregg, Mead, & Mueser, 2002).

If the recovery you seek is for the death of aloved one, one of the most traumatic andheartbreaking events of all, journaling can helpwith that as well. Writing can give you a chanceto process your enormous loss and reduce themost severe symptoms of grief. This has beenproven to be especially effective for childrendealing with bereavement (Kalantari, Yule,Dyregrov, Neshatdoost, & Ahmadi, 2012).

However, the recovery that journaling can havethe biggest impact on is recovery fromaddiction. If you’re struggling to overcome anaddiction, journaling can help you record yourstruggles and your accomplishments, holdyourself accountable and allow you anopportunity to work through difficult thoughtsand emotions in a healthy manner (Milios, 2015).

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 15/30

Why does journaling help so much withrecovery?

Writing our thoughts, feelings, and actions downin a journal allows us to craft and maintain oursense of self and solidifies our identity. It helpsus reflect on our experiences and discover ourauthentic self. Keeping a journal can give you achance to create and consider the narrative ofyour life, with all of the choices you have madeand the memories that make you who you aretoday. In a word, the benefits of journaling onrecovery is “cathartic” (New Roads Treatment,2017).

If you want to really up the impact of journalingon your recovery, consider writing with gratitude.

What Are the Benefits of Writing withGratitude?

You might get a quicker answer if you asked,“What AREN’T the benefits of writing withgratitude?”

Cultivating gratitude has already been shown tobe an extremely effective tool for reaching allkinds of goals and improving quality of life.However, you don’t necessarily need to write tocultivate gratitude—there are lots of ways to bemore grateful.

Luckily, applying gratitude specifically throughwriting can contribute to most of the generalbenefits of increasing gratitude, and some of theoutcomes reported from gratitude journalinginclude:

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 16/30

Boosting your long-term well-being,encouraging exercise, reducing physical painand symptoms, and increasing both lengthand quality of sleep (Emmons & McCullough,2003).

Increasing your optimism and, indirectly, yourhappiness and health (Froh, Sefick, &Emmons, 2008).

Reducing your symptoms of depression, foras long as you continue gratitude journaling(Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005).

Helping you make progress toward your goals(Emmons & Mishra, 2011).

Making you friendlier, more open, and morelikely to engage in prosocial behaviors, whichcan enhance and expand your social supportnetwork (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson,2005).

If none of these benefits make you wonder whatgratitude journaling could do for you, it seemsyou don’t need the help that gratitude can giveyou! Joking aside, there are more benefits togratitude journaling than we can feasibly listhere, and there’s almost certainly at least one ortwo that are desirable to you. It’s worth a shot!

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 17/30

9 Psychological Benefits of Journaling EveryDay

Journaling every day is a great habit to get into.Of course, any time you can carve out foreffective journaling is time well spent, but thebest practice is a regular, daily journalingsession.

What is so great about journaling every day?

There are tons of benefits to keeping a regularjournaling practice, including:

It promotes and enhances your creativity in away that once-in-a-while journaling simplycan’t match.

It propels you toward your goals, helping youbring your vision to life.

It offers you a daily opportunity to recoverfrom the daily stressors and leave theunimportant stuff behind.

It can help you identify things that wouldotherwise go unnoticed, such as patterns inyour thinking, the influences behind yourfeelings and behavior, and anyincongruencies in your life.

It gives you a chance to get all of youremotions out on paper, reducing your stressand releasing tension.

It facilitates learning by creating a record ofthe lessons and key ideas you havediscovered and helps you remember themmore effectively.

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 18/30

It boosts your overall sense of gratitude andyour sensitivity to all that you have to begrateful for.

It makes you a better writer and helps youdiscover your “voice.”

It leaves a written record of your experiences,which can be helpful today and extremelyprecious years into the future (Hardy, 2017).

For a more comprehensive list of all the potentialbenefits of journaling (although lacking inreferences), check out this page from JohnRobson and Patrice Steen.

How Can Students Benefit fromJournaling in and Out of theClassroom?

Along with all of the groups mentioned above,students of all ages can benefit from journalingas well. It has proven effective in an area that isvital for child and adolescent development:increasing self-efficacy and promoting a healthysense of control over one’s life (Fritson, 2008).

In addition, children can gain some of the samebenefits that adults get from journaling, like:

Helping them deal with “big feelings” in ahealthy and safe way.

Improving their writing skills, includingspelling, sentence structure, vocabulary, and

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 19/30

grammar.

Enhancing their reading skills.

Enhancing their communication skills (bothwritten and verbal).

Taking advantage of an outlet for things thatare difficult to express or uncomfortable toshare.

Exploring and identifying their emotions.

Allowing themselves to feel “taboo” emotionslike anger.

Examining the pros and cons of something tohelp them make a decision.

Reflecting on their thoughts about somethingafter the fact.

Gaining insight into their own motives and themotives of others.

Seeing the positives as well as the negatives.

Planning out tough conversations in advance(Morin, 2018; Rodriguez, 2017)

Most of these benefits will serve children both inthe classroom and out of it, helping them tonavigate difficult parts of life in differentdomains.

To help children gain these advantages fromjournaling, suggest the following journals forthem to try (at home, in the classroom, or both):

1. Nature Journals – these journals can beused to keep track of the flora and fauna

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 20/30

they see in nature, especially the species thatinterest them most.

2. Daily Prompt – responding to a daily promptcan give children a good open-endedopportunity to write about a new topic everyday.

3. Feelings Journal – when writing about theirfeelings, children can learn new vocabularyand get better at identifying and recognizingemotions in themselves and others.

4. Vacation Journal – this fun version can be agood bonding opportunity for the wholefamily (or the whole classroom, dependingon how this journaling exercise is carriedout); all the child needs to do is add pictures,memories, souvenirs, and anything else thatreminds them of their vacation (Morin, 2018).

To learn more about how to implementjournaling in the classroom, check out KarenBromley’s book on the subject: Journaling:Engagement in Reading, Writing, and Thinking.Bromley describes 13 different types of journalsyou can introduce in the classroom and sharesseveral case studies of successful journalingimplementations. If this piques your interest,click here to purchase the book!

30 Tips, Prompts, and Exercises forJournaling (PDF)

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 21/30

One of the aspects of journaling that makes it soeffective is that writing in your journal can be a“keystone” habit that helps you focus yourenergy and attention where it will be mosteffective. You can’t fix everything in your life allat once, and trying to start good habits and stopbad habits in the span of a day will likely lead tofailure. Real, positive change happens when youtake on only what you can handle; often,changing one important or keystone habit willhave ripple effects that improve your life and getyou closer to your goals in other areas as well.

Journaling is one such habit; it can keep youcentered, help you identify your strengths andweaknesses, give you an opportunity forreflection and self-analysis, and much, muchmore. Simply keeping a record of your thoughts,feelings, and actions can have a surprisingly bigimpact on your life.

If you’ve decided to start (or re-start) keeping ajournal but you’re not sure how to go about it,there are some excellent tips, suggestions,ideas, prompts, and advice in this section thatyou might find helpful.

First, here are seven ideas you can use whenyou simply have no idea what you want to writeabout:

1. Describing Experiences – Sometimes, allyou need to get going with writing is todescribe what you did today, what youthought about, or what happened in theworld today; you might find that you have a

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 22/30

lot more to say on the topic than youthought!

2. Affirmations – When you’re out of ideas andfeeling down about your abilities or your self-worth, try writing affirmations (e.g., “I am agood writer” or “I have a lot of talent”); you’llfind something to write about, and as abonus you’ll get a boost to your well-being!

3. Gratitude – As mentioned earlier, writing withgratitude is a great practice. It can also helpyou kickstart your journal entry if you’refeeling stuck. Simply write about the peopleand aspects of your life that you are gratefulfor.

4. Critical Self-Analysis – If you’re feelingparticularly blue, this one can be risky, but itcould also be really helpful in figuring outyour next steps. Ask yourself questions like“Who am I?” and “What did I doright/wrong?” Consider what you could dobetter or what is holding you back, and writeabout it.

5. Mining for Anxiety – This might soundunpleasant, but it can actually be a catharticexperience. We often feel anxiety that hasambiguous or unknown roots, which is nohelp when we’re trying to soothe ourirrational fears. Write about your anxiety, andkeep digging until you get to root (this mighttake a few sessions).

6. Performance Analysis – Whatever yourwork, hobby, or activity of choice, writeabout your performance. Write about howyou did, how you felt, what you could have

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 23/30

done better, or where you avoided pitfallsthat brought you down before. This can helpyou keep track of your progress and lead tovaluable insights.

7. Go “Live on the Scene” – This is a great in-the-moment technique to help you manageanxiety or strong emotions. As an event istranspiring that has you wringing your handsor struggling with powerful feelings, recordthings as they happen. You might noticesome interesting things about your response(Motta, 2018)!

The Tiny Buddha website also has someinteresting ideas and prompts that you can useto get started or get out of a rut. Their 10 tipsare:

Start writing about where you are in your lifeat this moment.

For five to ten minutes, just start writing in a“stream of consciousness.”

Start a dialogue with your inner child bywriting in your subdominant hand.

Cultivate an attitude of gratitude bymaintaining a daily list of things youappreciate, including uplifting quotes.

Start a journal of self-portraits.

Keep a nature diary to connect with thenatural world.

Maintain a log of successes.

Keep a log or playlist of your favorite songs.

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 24/30

If there’s something you are struggling with oran event that disturbing you, write about it inthe third person.

Develop your intuition (Hills, 2012).

If you don’t have any trouble figuring out whatyou want to write about, there are some othertips and suggestions on keeping a journal thatmight help you boost the effectiveness of yourpractice, such as:

Write first thing in the morning, right after youwake up.

Write whenever you’re out of your regularroutine (e.g., on vacation, visiting family, orjust feeling “disconnected”).

Give yourself a “reset” and take some time offfrom your other responsibilities; spend sometime writing in your journal—allow your mindto relax and let the insights flow in on theirown time.

Prepare your mental state before journaling inwhatever way works for you (e.g., exercise,talk to a close friend or family member, readsomething inspiring, meditate).

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 25/30

Be radically honest with yourself and aboutyourself when journaling—no one else will seeit, so there’s no need to try to “look good” onthe page!

Write about your big picture dreams, yourbiggest goals, and the important stuff that’sjust on the horizon for you.

Schedule a weekly planning session in whichyou decide what you are going to write abouteach day ahead of time.

Don’t worry about “rambling” or getting a bitoff-track; you can also revisit what you’vewritten and clarify or organize it later (Hardy,2018).

Although there are tons of guides and tips outthere on what to do when journaling to maximizeeffectiveness, there are also a few things tomake sure you don’t do:

1. Don’t let it allow you to live in your head toomuch.

2. Don’t let journaling turn you into a passiveobserver of your life (make sure youexperience your life instead of thinking abouthow you’ll write it up).

3. Don’t get self-obsessed by writing aboutyourself all the time.

4. Don’t let journaling become an exercise inself-blame instead of finding solutions.

5. Don’t allow yourself to wallow in the negativeaspects of your life (Stosny, 2013).

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 26/30

If all of these tips still haven’t satisfied your needfor guidance, check out this helpful PDF fromBrandeis University on effective journaling, orthis one from Loran Hills of the Tiny Buddhawebsite, or this handy e-book from Mari L.McCarthy and the “Journaling for the Health ofit” series.

Here are 11worksheets for self-expressive writingcreated by Seph andCraig.

With all of theseresources, you should be drowning in helpfultips and suggestions!

A Take Home Message

I hope you leave this piece with a betterunderstanding of journaling and the manypositive outcomes it can have for you and yourloved ones. Of course, there are somedownsides and potential negative side effectsthat can come from journaling, likeoverwhelming emotions, dragging up memoriesthat you might rather leave forgotten, or pushingyou into an introspective state that leaves youtoo focused on your inner experience andneglectful of your outer experience.

However, the benefits of journaling far outweighthe disadvantages or potential problems. I hopeyour takeaway from this piece is that journalingis an effective technique to help you manage

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 27/30

your stress, deal with symptoms of mentalillness, and recover from trauma and thatanyone can do it! You don’t need to be anaccomplished writer or a literary genius tobenefit from writing down your thoughts andfeelings.

Your journal is for you and you alone, andkeeping this in mind can make you feelimpossibly free to pour your authentic self ontothe page. Give a try! All you have to lose is a fewminutes of your time, and you already know allyou could gain.

Are you keeping a journal? What benefits do youget from journaling? Do you recommendjournaling for your clients? Why or why not? Letus know in the comments!

Thanks for reading, and happy journaling!

About the Author

Courtney Ackerman is agraduate of the positiveorganizational psychologyand evaluation program atClaremont GraduateUniversity. She is currently

References

Related Posts

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 28/30

working as a researcher forthe State of California andher professional interestsinclude survey research,well-being in the workplace,and compassion. Whenshe’s not gleefully craftingsurvey reminders, she lovesspending time with herdogs, visiting wine country,and curling up in front of thefireplace with a good bookor video game.

4 Comments

daniel December 8, 2018 at 11:10 am Reply

Thanks, A great resource ,generously givenand much appreciated.I am an avidjournal writer and have been foryears.It is literally a life saver activity. Thanks again.

Monica Gelinas October 24, 2018 at 12:51

am Reply

I am trying to download this article toprint. Is that possible?

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 29/30

Name

Email

Cherlnell Lane October 20, 2018 at 8:21 pm

Reply

This is a great resource I am workingon a workshop on Journaling and thishas helped out tremendously. I love itwhenever I see things on journaling!Thank you for taking the time.

Philip September 8, 2018 at 5:02 pm Reply

Thank you for your very helpfulguidance. I’m attempting writingdown my experience of a lifethreatening disease. Before after, inamongst the hospital, day, weeks &months.

Leave a Reply

*

*

1/22/2019 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management (PDF)

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/ 30/30

Website

Post Comment

Sign me up for the newsletter

Disclaimer

Terms ofService

PrivacyPolicy

EditorialGuidelines

Legal

Free PDF

PositivePsychologyCourses

PositivePsychologyeBooks

PositivePsychologyToolkit

Opportunities

Toolkit Login

Our Team

Sitemap

Contact

Contact

Copyright 2018 Positive Psychology Program B.V. All Rights Reserved.