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The idea of therapeutic journaling often provokes mixed feelings \u2014 love because you can make it look pretty and hate because you know that it\u2019s about dealing with the tough, uncomfortable stuff.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever opened a Google search and typed something like, \u201cHow to be okay again<\/em>\u201d or \u201chow to cope with stress and trauma<\/em>\u201d or \u201chow to get myself together again<\/em>\u201d, you\u2019re not alone. No matter how broken or wrecked you feel, the fact that you are looking for ways to help yourself shows that you have not given up.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good start. This blog post will show you how to use therapeutic journaling<\/a> in ways that suit you, your style, and your needs.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> For starters, I\u2019ll use this post for some therapeutic confession, if you will. I\u2019m a writer \u2014 I do copywriting for a living, so I rarely have a shortage of words and ideas. But, when it comes to penning my pain, it\u2019s like a bloody wrestling match.<\/p>\n I sometimes have this fear that whatever I write in my journal will make whatever I\u2019m struggling with real if it\u2019s not real yet, or more real than I feel able to cope with. Truthfully, I\u2019m terrible at doing consistent therapeutic writing.<\/p>\n My other excuses include the things that fill up my time (and my mind) like parenting, homeschooling two young children, working full-time, and having a partner with life-threatening, untreatable heart failure. See why I should write more?<\/p>\n That said, there have been times in the past three years where I grabbed a pen or my phone to pour out some gut-wrenching poetry to express my feelings just so I could breathe. It works in those moments. Somehow, oxygen and words are related\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Journaling is a type of therapeutic writing where you focus on getting your troubles out of your heart and mind so that you can look at it, reflect on it, put it in perspective, and figure out how to move forward.<\/p>\n For some, it\u2019s a way to figure out what you are feeling and thinking to begin with. It\u2019s a process that may involve your therapist or you can do it on your own. It doesn\u2019t replace your therapist when you really need to see one but writing as therapy comes pretty close in effectiveness.<\/p>\n You determine what you want to get out of therapeutic writing, and how \u2014 you can keep it super basic to start with or combine it with expressive art using colors, pictures, collage, etc.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> There are so many studies on the benefits of writing, it\u2019s well worth looking up. For this post, I\u2019ll give you a shortlist of some of the key benefits:<\/p>\n If you want to feel better about yourself, your life, and the world around you, writing about it all is a cheap, accessible, and proven way to start being okay again. As the English novelist and journalist Graham Greene said, \u201cWriting is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic, and fear which is inherent in a human situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> On the other hand, if you feel the opposite and would rather be inspired by a beautiful journal or notebook, buy one. Get a nice gel rollerball pen or some markers as well and set out to have fun. Expressive writing therapy doesn\u2019t have to be all black pen, dark doodles, and tears. Add some color!<\/p>\n Set yourself the tiny goal of just writing a single paragraph a day<\/a>. It\u2019s easy enough to commit to that. The idea is to just get you started. You\u2019ll probably write more than that soon enough.<\/p>\n Write whatever you think of first, or whatever you wish you could tell someone without being judged or criticized. Therapeutic writing is an opportunity to be safely, brutally honest, to your advantage.<\/p>\n Tip: If you\u2019re afraid someone will read your journal, you can also use an online app version that you can secure with a password. (Or just burn whatever you\u2019ve written on paper for an extra dash of closure therapy.)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> In some ways, yes and no.<\/p>\n Yes, because it puts the responsibility for working on your healing where it should be \u2014 in your hands. It\u2019s an empowering feeling when you start making progress on working through things and realizing you\u2019re doing it yourself.<\/p>\n On the flip side, it\u2019s not a replacement for situations where a therapist is necessary for the healing process, such as working through violence-related trauma, abuse, and loss, for instance. It is good to have a therapist who is objective, experienced, and able to help you think about your thinking when you need support.<\/p>\n That said, there\u2019s no reason you can\u2019t have both! For instance, you can share some of your writing with your therapist when you\u2019re working through trauma that\u2019s hard to talk about.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> The benefits of consistent therapeutic writing are huge. But I\u2019ve always been a bit of a rule-breaker and I find that writing for healing right when I need it most is when I get the most satisfaction. If I try and force the therapeutic effect, it doesn\u2019t seem to work as well.<\/p>\n Other tricks that help me get started when I feel stuck in my head include:<\/p>\n Looking at beautiful random pictures on free stock picture sites such as Pexels, Pixabay, or Unsplash. Pictures can help spark feelings and words that I need and\/or want to write about.<\/p>\n Daily life is full of inspiration. Write about what you did today, what happened, and how you felt about it. Write the thoughts that are rambling on in the back of your mind whenever you get a minute\u2019s peace.<\/p>\n Write about what you want for your future, how you want to feel, where you want to be and what you want to do. Explore it in depth. This is a powerful exercise that\u2019s proven to help you achieve your dreams.<\/p>\n Start with your childhood and write down everything you\u2019ve been through. A little bit at a time, until you\u2019ve caught up with the present day. It can also serve as a record of your life and memories for your family if you wish.<\/p>\n You can also lookup therapeutic writing prompts online and use that for inspiration.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> I hope you are feeling inspired to try out therapeutic writing for yourself. Writing this piece has certainly rebooted my motivation to do it again because life gets so hectic that I occasionally forget I\u2019m a person and not a machine on autopilot. When it catches up with me, I\u2019m a mess.<\/p>\n Life is crazy, wonderful, uncertain, and unpredictable (thanks for the reminder, 2020). But when you start turning to pen and paper, it\u2019s a small way of taking back control. You can get a hold of your thoughts, feelings, and decide how you will handle the things you can\u2019t control, instead of just giving in to whatever happens.<\/p>\n Even if you only pick up your journal once a week to remind yourself of things to be grateful for and to tell yourself that you\u2019ll get through whatever it is you\u2019re facing, it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Heideli Loubser is a\u00a0<\/span>direct-response copywriter<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and a content marketing strategist helping health professionals and coaches grow their business while they focus on helping their clients get well. She is also a\u00a0<\/span>homeschool blogging mom\u00a0<\/span><\/a>of two kiddos. When she\u2019s not wielding her powerful <\/span>pen to\u00a0help businesses\u00a0and other parents, she enjoys gardening, painting, caffeine, and scrolling on TikTok.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[691],"tags":[697],"class_list":["post-25435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writer-development","tag-featured"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Scott","author_link":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/author\/scottadmin"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25435\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/calepin.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}About The Author<\/h2><\/div>
What Type Of Therapy Is Journaling?<\/h2><\/div>
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<\/p>\nHow Does Creative Writing Help Mental Health?<\/h2><\/div>
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\nImprove depression and anxiety<\/a>, slow down racing thoughts.<\/li>\nHow Do You Start a Therapeutic Journal?<\/h2><\/div>
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If you can\u2019t bring yourself to splurge on a pretty journal or notebook for fear you won\u2019t actually use it, then just buy the plainest, cheapest notebook you can find. Something with only 72 pages or less. Make it yours and print or cut out a picture to put on the cover. Starting small and simple is key to making it work.<\/p>\nIs Journaling Better Than Therapy?<\/h2><\/div>
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<\/p>\nCreative Writing Methods That I Found Most Helpful<\/h2><\/div>
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Where To Get Therapeutic Writing Prompts<\/h2><\/div>
Try Therapeutic Writing For Yourself<\/h2><\/div>
Author Bio<\/h2><\/div>