How Does Journal Writing Help Anxiety?

[Deleted member 19325]

How does Journal writing help anxiety?

We are told that we have around sixty thousand thoughts every day. But the bad news is its almost the same thoughts every other day. If its almost the same thoughts, whats the point of journal writing?

If you find a time of the day when we are at peace, then try to write a few lines or a page. Just start to write what you feel or how the day went. It helps to talk with ourself and see ourselves through our words.

In the case of anxiety, doing this exercise helps to find out the days when we are impacted by anxiety. Once you write this for a few days then there will be a pattern that emerge, when these anxiety gets triggered.

It might be due to our lifestyle, the environment around or even the weather. This will help us understand the anxiety better and we can make progress on our self-healing process. We will start to change the lifestyle or situations that puts us in those anxious moments. Also it will helps us go to the root where the problem lies and helps us resolve it.

While I went through the tough stages of anxiety, I got this advice from someone who told me to write everyday. At that time it didn't make any sense,but now after few years, I see how it helped and still better, I have a manuscript to write a book about my experience.

Best wishes,
vivbala

 

[KP the nut]

Hi vivbala and welcome to the forum.

My therapist had me do a different sort of journal. He told me to go buy a book that I liked, my first book had characters from Winnie the Pooh (I'm a huge Tigger fan), I also bought a matching pen. He told me to write in it daily all of the things for which I was grateful, that I was proud of, etc.

At first it was a very sad short list. Things like, my family and things they did for me, watching the birds in my garden, my dogs. I also stuck photos of things I had done, baking, trees on a walk. Even if it was only one thing, I did it. Being proud of myself was a hard one, but again over time, I did it, things like driving, managing a trigger, anything that took me out of my comfort zone.

I no longer see a therapist but I still write in my books (yes, many books now). It is amazing to look back and see how far I have come. Of course, I still have bad times, but those books show that even in bad times, I still am grateful for small things.

For the other stuff, I used my diary here. Occasionally printing off pages to show my therapist.

Wishing you well.

 

[Barconian]

Interesting :)

 

[The Albatross]

There are patterns and themes that emerge when journaling. But also a benefit I get by doing it is documenting and seeing where I am successful in situations or with people as well. It gives me a place to go to refresh my memory when I get stuck in a down cycle and by reading through, gives me sometimes enough leverage and new experiences to over-ride the self criticism or over thinking to get a rebound more quickly.

 

[LilBit]

I apologize if this is inappropriate. I am a supporter. But at the beginning of 2013 I tried to get my sufferer to participate with me in making a gratitude jar. Basically every day you write down something you are thankful for and put it in the jar. Supposed to read the jars at the end of the year. I know it is not quite the same as a therapy journal, but she seemed to find being expected to do something extremely stressful. Something that simple caused her anxiety, I was amazed at how distressing she found this. I suppose maybe it is a therapy tool that just wouldn't work for her, but it seems she is that way about anything that is routine. Is that ptsd that makes it hard to make commitments to doing things regularly?

 

[Annie B]

Interesting. I have tried but failed repeatedly. Whenever I get that sense of impending doom and panic I tear out chunks of my journals and throw them away. It is so that when I die (at any minute probably) I will be remembered in a positive way. I don't want anyone to know or remember what I'm struggling with. I know it is crazy but the only thing that keeps me from doing it is writing fluffy happy stuff to avoid my real feelings or not writing at all.

Did this ever happen to you vivbala? If so how did you deal with this?

 

[JustBe]

@LilBit
I find expectations send me into a tailspin. If I know I *must* do something I tend to obsess about it and end up avoiding it altogether.


As For the benefits of journals, I write only when I have a thought I want to remember or something to work out that I needed to get out of my head for awhile.

 

[franciemarnie]

Brief notes on my progress help me. Also a daily gratitude list is fun to write.

A few years ago, I felt compelled to cut out pictures from magazines that were somehow meaningful and assemble them on paper in a book form. I didn't know why I felt compelled. Before you knew it, there was my life story. It wasn't painful in symbols vs writing the traumatic details. It was illuminating and enjoyable and cathartic.

 

[Deleted member 19325]

Hello Annie,

I normally write when I am at peace so that I don't have any stressful thoughts running behind. There is no harm in writing the sad or fearful part as it will help you measure your progress.

Also if you read them after a day or so, when you are feeling well, you might even laugh at the state you wrote the fearful words as you will see the illusion of the fear and help you face it in future. This way when it comes back, it will be easy to handle.

Hope, I clarified your question.

Wishes,

Vivbala

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Journaling brings out my obsessions. Well, WRITTEN journaling. My art journals are more calming, although the obsessions sometimes come out there, too.

 

[Barconian]

Journaling brings out my obsessions. Well, WRITTEN journaling. My art journals are more calming, although the obsessions sometimes come out there, too.

I can relate to that!

 

[Hashi]

I normally write when I am at peace so that I don't have any stressful thoughts running behind... if you read them after a day or so, when you are feeling well...

Vivbala, you've posted on the forum before in a way that sounded like someone who has experienced anxiety but doesn't have PTSD. These comments are surprising in relation to PTSD. I wonder how many sufferers have times of being at peace without stressful thoughts, or feeling well after a day or so and laughing at how they were feeling before.

I think people with PTSD are coming from a different place. General approaches to anxiety can be helpful, but not always. Fear, for example, is not an illusion when we're still holding unprocessed fear from trauma. To disregard that is to risk denial, dissociation and avoidance. To approach it without care is to risk overwhelm and other bad reactions.

Are you here on the forum as someone with PTSD or as someone close to a sufferer?