Journaling has become part of many people’s morning routine, with some writing three pages before the day properly begins.
The practice is meant to help people organize their thoughts, reduce stress and understand themselves better. But what is behind it and what do methods such as morning pages or a gratitude journal actually achieve? Two writing therapists explain.
What is journaling and what forms are there?
"Journaling actually has nothing to do with keeping a diary," says certified writing therapist Doris Hönig. In a diary, people mostly write down experiences, meaning what has happened. "Journaling is about writing down what is happening inside me," Hönig says.
Journaling involves engaging with your own thoughts and feelings, says author and certified writing therapist Liv Apollonia Scharbatke. There are various ways to do this:
- Morning pages: A daily writing practice in which you write down whatever comes to mind straight after getting up. This can be individual thoughts, bullet points or half sentences. The text doesn't have to be coherent. Morning pages are meant to clear your head so you can then go about everyday life in a relaxed way.
- Braindump : Similar to morning pages, a "braindump" is also about writing down tasks, fears, joy, gratitude and ideas unfiltered and unordered to clear your head.
- Gratitude journal: In a gratitude journal, you usually write down positive experiences or moments each day that you are grateful for. This is meant to shift your focus consciously away from the negative towards the positive in life.
- Self-love journaling: Here you regularly write down what you appreciate about yourself. The aim is to strengthen self-confidence and resilience.
- Career journaling: With career journaling, you write down at the end of the working day what you have achieved and accomplished. This is meant to boost motivation and a sense of purpose.
There is now a wide range of journaling templates. They range from printable PDFs and digital templates to apps and books. From Hönig’s point of view, such templates are fine for getting started. But she advises using a notebook, if not from the outset, then a little later.
She also advises writing only by hand "and not typing something into a smartphone." People who write by hand find it easier to get into a flow.
Scharbatke takes a similar view. Writing by hand activates more areas of the brain than typing on a keyboard and can therefore make it easier to engage more intensely with your own thoughts. "Depending on your circumstances, it can also help to type something into your smartphone at least from time to time," Scharbatke says, for example if you are often on the move.
Regular journaling can lower stress levels and strengthen emotional resilience. There are scientific studies on this. Studies also show indications of possible positive effects on depressive symptoms, for example when people repeatedly write about emotional topics.
"With journaling, it all depends on continuity," Hönig says. Only if you regularly keep it up are positive effects possible. She recommends writing for 10 minutes a day, "just start writing and note how you are feeling".
Writing down worries, stressful thoughts or even nice moments contributes to a more conscious perception and helps to separate what is important from what is unimportant.
"Journaling can be especially helpful for those who have a lot on their mind and want more clarity and mental relief in everyday life," Scharbatke says.
But journaling is not a cure-all, Hönig says. It can contribute to making a mindful journey through your own self. But to reduce depression sustainably, more is usually needed, such as therapeutic conversations.
The same applies to stress. Journaling can also provide relaxation here. "But that may be only one piece of the puzzle alongside other measures such as more sleep," Hönig says.
Anyone with severe psychological problems should do journaling with professional support, Scharbatke says. Writing about your own thoughts and feelings can trigger strong emotions and it can be an advantage if specially trained therapists can help them process these.
Scharbatke recommends initially planning only small time slots for journaling, as a low-threshold entry point, for example three to five minutes. A timer helps to keep to the self-imposed time limit at the beginning.
However, this is not a rigid time limit and you can also write for longer. "Better three minutes every day than half an hour or a whole hour once a week," the writing therapist says.
Last but not least, it can help to link journaling to an existing habit, such as always doing it after brushing your teeth. – by Sabine Meuter/dpa
