Journaling: one of the best tools in the toolbox

This isn’t my first post on the benefits of journaling and it certainly won’t be my last. I will probably continue to sing about the benefits forever because it has been so instrumental in my own healing journey. I’m one hundred percent sure that I would not be as far along as I am without it.

Get to know yourself

A journal is a safe space for you to really get to know yourself. By putting your thoughts and emotions down on paper, you can gain a greater understanding of yourself and your experiences. It can also help you process difficult emotions and events, and can be a safe space for self-expression. It’s yours and yours alone. No one can judge you or criticize you. You don’t have to explain yourself to anyone. Only you get to decide what you write, what you go back and read again, what you share… You are in control. Journaling can help remind you of that and empower you to make any needed changes in your life.

There are a lot of benefits of journaling

Not only does journaling help you process your thoughts and emotions, but it can help reduce your stress and anxiety levels. It can help you identify patterns in your thoughts and behaviors, which can lead to better self-awareness and a more positive outlook. And it can also be used as a sort of meditation to help you to stay present when you need to be. You can explore new ideas, thoughts and perspectives. Plan your goals and dreams and desires. See what you love about your life and what you’d like to change.

Journaling through triggers

After experiencing trauma, triggers can hit super hard and leave you feeling like the ground has opened up underneath you and is threatening to swallow you whole. Journaling can actually help you to be better prepared to handle those moments.

Start by identifying the trigger. Write down what happened and how it made you feel. Take some time to reflect on the emotions that came up for you during the episode. What did it make you think about? How did your body react physically? Then think about how you handled the trigger. What were your coping mechanisms? Did they help or hurt? Write about what you did and the reactions you had to those actions. What would you do differently next time?

Make sure to give yourself some compassion and credit for making it through the trigger. Acknowledge that it’s hard and that you’re doing the best that you can do. And then set intentions for the future. You can use your journaling to set intentions for how you want to respond to triggers in the future. Write about what you want to do differently, what you want to avoid, and what you want to focus on moving forward.

Journaling to THRIVE

If you’re new to journaling or new to this site, I am now offering my downloadable Journaling to THRIVE workbook to help get you started. Click here and it’s all yours!