The Psychological Benefits Of Journaling
Journaling in many people arises as an activity or hobby in their early/ formative years. It has been scientifically proven that if it becomes a habit it has a plethora of mental health benefits. Stress management, venting out emotions and even just maintaining a journal of our dreams helps put things in a positive perspective. It also improves the Intelligent Quotient (IQ) and Emotional Quotient (EQ), of a person. Besides having an umpteen number of benefits for all age groups, journaling has proven to be extremely positive for the human mind.
According to Dr. Bhaskar Mukherjee, Consultant Psychiatrist, Special Interest Molecular Psychiatry “Journaling can be a strong method for therapy in addressing fear, anxiety, and trauma. By putting pen to paper, individuals can experience several advantages within the limits of therapy. Firstly, journaling provides a safe and confidential space to express and explore emotions associated with these occurrences, permitting individuals to process and release them.” He expressed his thoughts further by saying that it promotes self-reflection, helping to identify patterns, stimuli, and fundamental reasons of dread and unease. Through journaling, one can gain a more distinct comprehension of their deepest thoughts and worries, nurturing self-consciousness and perception. It also serves as a means of tracking progress and recognizing positive changes over time, giving a perception of success and drive. He signed off by saying that, “Additionally, journaling allows for creative expression, offering alternative perspectives and cultivating a perception of empowerment. Ultimately, this self-directed practice can complement therapy by promoting emotional healing, resilience and a deeper comprehension of oneself.”
Dr. Mamta Shah, Consultant Clinical Psychologist/Psychotherapist gave her opinion by saying that, “Unexpressed emotions lead to unhealthy behaviour patterns that affect both the person who is having them and people in their lives. The unexpressed emotions and feelings never die, they are buried alive. They go on affecting the person consciously and unconsciously and eventually come out in uglier ways like self-destructive behaviours (attempting suicide, binge eating or not eating, compulsive acts like gambling, gaming, or shopping and risky sexual behaviour, overusing alcohol and drugs, self-injury, such as cutting, hair pulling, burning, etc.)” She explained that expressing rather than keeping difficult emotions to oneself can provide stress relief, lighten the load and help to start breaking it into smaller parts, which can stop one from feeling so overwhelmed. Talking to a therapist or trusted person helps but not everyone is able to share due to several reasons. She also gave us more insight about the subject by saying that, “One can start with a process called journaling. Journaling has been linked to decrease mental distress, decrease overthinking and acting out in destructive patterns. Journaling clears your mind of intrusive thoughts and problems that you can't shake off. It also helps in identifying your triggers and learning how to handle them. If writing is not your forte, one can also draw in their journals, the point being expressing on paper. Penning down your feelings and emotions in an impersonal or abstract way can also be calming and make you a happy and more secure person.”
Dr. Anu Teotia, Senior Psychotherapist & Assistant Professor (II) Amity University Noida said that, “Journaling is one of most commonly suggested activity in the psychotherapeutic scenario. When a person starts to pen down his or her thoughts, it results in organizing the thoughts and ideas around the particular issue.” According to her, journaling helps in creating a distance from the problem the person is going through, by giving a third person’s perspective, as it leads to cognitive-de-fusion (observing the thoughts as thoughts rather than believing them as they are the reality). She added that, “Due to this, the person is able to acknowledge the illogicality of the thoughts, and understanding that this is the anxious or fearful mind talking rather than becoming anxious and fearful with those conversations in the mind. Writing as an Ideomotor response, involves non-conscious muscle movement, so it helps to release the pain and suffering through activation of unconscious mind. That makes it a very effective therapeutic tool for the people struggling with post-traumatic stress, anxiety and any kind of fear or phobia.”
The fact that people are becoming more aware of the benefits of journaling is in itself proof that how therapeutic and beneficial it is. Word of mouth is always key to a new ‘trend’ or practice and this is factually proven. The pros and cons of journaling are such that for some people there is no time for it, as they don’t even know whether they resonate with it positively or not. The majority of the new generation though, is of the belief that journaling is key to their personal growth. Mental and emotional growth can ramp up people’s mentality and even their perception of the world.
