November Progress Goal

Journaling has become increasingly popular among young adults especially throughout and following the pandemic when the importance of slowing down, reflecting and focusing on mental health was highlighted. I personally have several journals that I write in occasionally but have never kept effectively in the long-term. But this month, I want to focus on keeping a journal and am curious to see if there will be any lasting effects at the end of the month in terms of improved mood and mental health.

I often found myself bored of mindlessly recounting the days events and simultaneously afraid of turning my journal into more of a diary that would express my true emotions about an event. I was inhibited for fear of someone finding my journal and judging my actions or knowing the shameful secrets I have kept or even of judging my own self on the page.

Why Journaling Works

In preparation for this month of journaling, I read an array of studies and meta-analyses on the efficacy of journaling for mental and physical health.

In Lepore’s study on how Expressive Writing Moderates the Relation Between Intrusive Thoughts and Depressive Symptoms, he highlights that inhibition, which is the tendency to conceal significant experiences from others can have a dramatic negative effect on health. Inhibition and not allowing emotions to be expressed can actually lead to an increase in intrusive thoughts about a negative event which can in turn lead to negative mood and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety (Lepore, 1997).

It’s thought that journaling can provide a way to express emotions related to an impactful event without requiring an individual to confide in another individual who may or may not be supportive. Thus journaling gives an avenue for processing thoughts and feelings about an event and blunts the emotional sting of recalling the experience.

How to Journal

In all of the studies, there was a group that focused on expressive writing using descriptive words and emotion words about a past traumatic or impactful experience and a control group that wrote in factual terms about an event while steering away from coloring the work with emotional language (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005). From the results of the studies, it was clear that simply keeping a log of the day’s events was not enough to produce any noticeable benefits, rather there is a correct way to journal so that it will encourage reflection and improved attitudes.

Typically expressive writing is performed over a period of twenty minutes where the writer expresses his or her deepest thoughts and feelings about an emotional event.

Here is a prompt with the traditional writing instructions that I will be following over the month:

For the next 4 days, I would like you to write your very deepest thoughts and feelings about the most traumatic experience of your entire life or an extremely important emotional issue that has affected you and your life. In your writing, I’d like you to really let go and explore your deepest emotions and thoughts. You might tie your topic to your relationships with others, including parents, lovers, friends or relatives; to your past, your present or your future; or to who you have been, who you would like to be or who you are now. You may write about the same general issues or experiences on all days of writing or about different topics each day. All of your writing will be completely confidential.

Don’t worry about spelling, grammar or sentence structure. The only rule is that once you begin writing, you continue until the time is up.

Baikie, K., & Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(5), 338-346.

Throughout November, I will aim to write four times a week on Monday through Thursday using this prompt to explore events that I have found traumatic or emotionally impactful. I will also score myself on a depressive mood and self-efficacy index on the Sunday and Friday of every week. For the first week I will score my mood on November first after my first journal entry.

How Effectiven Is Journaling

A systematic analysis of twenty studies on the efficacy of journaling in the management of mental illness revealed that “68% of the intervention outcomes were effective, with a significant difference between the control and intervention groups supporting the efficacy of journaling” (Sohal, Singh, Dhillon & Gill, 2022).

Another study that examined the effects of journaling on physical health mainly calculated by a reduction in health issues and doctor’s visits found that “expressive writing produced significant benefits for individuals with a variety of medical problems” including rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, HIV, cystic fibrosis, sleep-onset latency, and asthma (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005).

It’s clear that journaling is a low-cost and low-effort way to see improvements in health and with the only instruments needed being a pen, some paper and twenty minutes of time, it’s certainly a worthwhile goal for the month!

A Brief Caution

The studies additionally showed a brief increase in negative mood following the expressive writing. This spike in distress does not pose any long-term risk but anyone trying out journaling should be aware that it may come with a short-term increase in negative affect.