Therapeutic Journaling for Mental Health

1. Journal to process emotional pain

Writing about emotional pain helps to identify negative thinking patterns and critical self-talk. This is very effective, as negative thoughts are often the root of depression and anxiety. Research has demonstrated that journaling has been effective for reducing symptoms associated with depression and trauma.  Writing about emotional, stressful, or traumatic events helps to process and regulate associated emotions. Writing about these thoughts, feelings, and experiences exposes you to them, thereby diminishing their power, negative impact, and hold that they can have on you, particularly if you’re using denial and avoidance as coping methods.

2. Write about a positive experience from your past to generate joy and positivity.

Use all of your senses, and write about a special day. Your brain can’t tell the difference between living an event and imagining an event. When you write about an enjoyable experience from your past, you’re immersing yourself in the experience, and benefiting from the joy that experience brought into your life.

3. Keep a positivity file.

When wonderful things happen in your life, write about it! This exercise elevates mood and generates positivity in the moment, and can also serve as a wonderful way to reflect on your life when you’re going through a difficult time. Reading about a positive event from your past provides evidence for you that it is possible for you to feel good. It happened before, so it can happen again!

4. Generate positivity by using the acronym A.W.E.S.O.M.E. to generate ideas.

Write about a time when you demonstrated:

A – Achievement

W – Wisdom

E – Excellence

S – Strength

O – Optimism

M – Motivation

E – Empathy

For further reading on the therapeutic and mental health benefits of writing, you may want to read

• Opening Up by Writing it Down: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain by James Pennebaker and Joshua M. Smyth
• Expressive Writing: Words that Heal by James Pennebaker and John Frank Evans
• Ch. 18 Write About Your Thoughts and Feelings, in Feeling Good: 35 Proven Ways to Happiness, Even During Tough Times, by Dr. Peggy DeLong

Podcast – Huberman Lab #151 – “A Science Supported Journaling Protocol to Improve Mental and Physical Health”