Inside: Learn how you can use journaling for healing to work through your thoughts and feelings.
As much as we’d like to avoid getting hurt or having to deal with difficult situations, life isn’t always perfect. Everyone goes through challenging circumstances at some point in their lives.
If things were perfect all the time, we’d never get the chance to learn from our experiences.
While we may sometimes be told to “suck it up” or “let time heal”, dealing with negative emotions becomes easier when we take the time to process them.
While talking things out with a friend definitely helps, journaling is another wonderful way to release our emotions. Journaling is a safe way to completely express ourselves without fear of being judged or getting advice we may not be looking for.
Here are some ways journaling is an extremely powerful tool that will help you move forward in your healing process no matter the situation you’re currently facing!
7 Powerful Ways to Use Journaling for Healing
There are many benefits of journaling for your well-being. Let’s look at specific ways you can use journaling for healing.
1. Journaling helps you release anger
Much like talking about your feelings with a close friend or loved one, journaling helps you release thoughts and emotions that feel painful.
The key difference between talking it out and writing it privately is that journaling allows you to freely express yourself, giving you permission to release thoughts you otherwise wouldn’t in fear of judgment.
Simply put, knowing that whatever you write is completely private will free you up to get completely honest about what is affecting you.
By letting every single emotion and thought out on paper, you’ll be able to lighten the burden and as a result, help you move forward in your healing process.
2. Journaling helps you cope with difficult times
A true healing journey really only begins when we acknowledge that there is a problem in the first place and find the strength to get honest and confront it.
As you write down your emotions on paper, you’ll allow yourself to dig deeper into what you are going through without external thoughts and opinions getting in the way.
The more you do it, the clearer the image of your emotional state will get.
Once that’s done, you will be able to put together the necessary steps to find a solution.
3. You’ll learn to connect better with your emotions
Journaling helps us get honest about our emotions, which is a key step to finding a solution to fix any issues that may be present in a certain situation.
As you write, you’ll be able to better process the situation you’re in as well as the way it makes you feel. This ultimately helps you see how much emotional damage may have been caused that you wouldn’t otherwise have realized.
Once you become aware of the full situation, it becomes easier to outline a proper healing plan to help rebalance your thoughts and emotions.
The healing process can include trying out new hobbies, getting out of your comfort zone, or seeking professional help (plus, journaling in addition to therapy has also proven to help the healing process).
4. You’ll be better able to reflect on events in an honest way
As you write about a specific event, you will be able to place yourself back into it and break down exactly what happened and how the circumstances made you feel.
Thanks to the fact that your journal is private, you’ll be able to tell the story without external voices influencing it. By doing so, you will be able to become better aware of the part you played in the story.
While some people may struggle to see their responsibility in a situation, others may assume too much responsibility. Therapy can be beneficial for helping you to achieve a more balanced perspective.
5. Journaling will improve your confidence by validating you
Journaling allows us to express ourselves freely, which is an essential step towards allowing ourselves to understand that whatever it is we’re feeling is 100% valid, even if those feelings aren’t exactly positive.
As you practice exploring your feelings and fully understanding them, you’ll become more confident in making sense of your situation.
6. Journaling helps us keep a track record, which helps us avoid cognitive dissonance
Experiencing cognitive dissonance can create a lot of stress and greatly affect your ability to heal properly. This psychological term refers to a situation when you have two opposite attitudes, behaviors, or feelings towards a certain situation.
For instance, let’s say you’re currently leaving a toxic relationship. You know it’s definitely the best move for you in the long term, but because you love the person you’re with, your feelings become conflicting. To leave because it’s better for your mental well-being, or to stay because you love the person and miss them?
By keeping a journal, you are also creating a track record of situations you experience and the way you feel about them.
It can be incredibly beneficial to read back on your previous entries whenever you start doubting whether your decision and thoughts align. As a result, you can get your power back during weak moments.
7. You’ll keep a record of how you survive certain situations
In the future, whenever a similar situation arises, you will be much better prepared to deal with it thanks to the fact you’ve got it all written down!
Whenever we’re faced with something for the first time, we tend to need a little time to adjust and learn how to handle things.
As an example, if you’re currently trying to heal from the loss of a job, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation in the future, you can go back to your journal and get a pretty clear picture of what worked and what didn’t the first time you went through that experience. In other cases, it may actually help you avoid the situation from happening in the first place!
Final tips on how to make the most out of journaling
Here are a few simple tips to keep in mind when journaling in order to make the most out of it to help you heal:
- Write down the dates of each entry so you can stay organized
- Refrain from censoring yourself
- Don’t edit your entries (remember, it’s completely private!)
- Write down whatever comes to mind, it doesn’t matter if it feels silly or as if you shouldn’t write it
- Be open to sharing parts of it with a therapist if needed
If you’re not sure where to start, try these mindful journaling prompts to help you begin.
You can use journaling for healing
I hope this list of reasons why journaling can aid you in the process of healing inspired you to try starting your own.
Not only is journaling an extremely powerful self-care tool, but it can also seriously become a much-needed outlet when life gets a little tough.
If you feel as though you’ve tried pretty much everything or simply find yourself looking for new tools to help make your healing process a little easier, give journaling a try.
Have you ever used journaling as a tool to heal from a difficult situation or life change? Let me know it helped you in the comment section below!
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