What is Journaling?
Journaling “is a simple low-cost tool of improving your mental health” in which you write down your personal thoughts, feelings, insights, goals, and even more in a way leading to transformative thinking.
How does it work?
Writing removes mental blocks and allows you to use more of your brainpower to better understand yourselves and the world around you; seeing your thoughts written down on a piece of paper triggers basic questions like where the information/thoughts came from and how it impacts your everyday life.
Writing accesses the left hemisphere of your brain, which is analytical and rational, and while you’re writing, this half of the brain is occupied. Meanwhile, the right hemisphere is free to do what it does best, i.e., create Intuit and feel.
Writing can serve as a powerful life tool; when you put thoughts on paper and contemplate ideas, you will learn more about the inner and personal self. Physical pen-on-paper writing activates a part of a brain called the “reticular activating system” which is responsible of filtering and focusing information.
A lead researcher on expressive writing at the University of Texas has found that when we translate an experience or secret into language by writing it down, it becomes comprehensible.
Writing about overwhelming emotions is an effective way of creating clarity and perspective in your life. A study done by Matthew Lieberman, a psychologist at the University of California in Los Angeles, shows that the more you write about your emotions, the more effective your right brain will be. He studied people who wrote about recent emotional experiences for 20 minutes a day for four consecutive days. The result confirmed the right brain was activated, their emotions were balanced, their alarm center turned down, they were more mindful, and they were able to create better. Furthermore, men seemed to benefit from writing about their feelings more than women, probably, because women are more used to putting their feelings into words. And last, Lieberman realized that writing by hand has a bigger effect than typing.
Therapists and health care professionals frequently recommend the habit of keeping a journal. It is a great way to gain a better understanding of your life situation and emotions. Now, after you’ve known it is backed up by science, will you start your journaling journey today?
