Writing for Well-Being: Four Simple Journaling Techniques. Barbara Stahura, CJF

Transcription

1 Writing for Well-Being: Four Simple Journaling Techniques Barbara Stahura, CJF Barbara Stahura 2017

2 The simple act of writing about our deep thoughts and feelings can help us feel better physically and emotionally. Writing for just a few minutes a day helps reduce stress, increase happiness, manage difficult experiences, clear up confusion, and may even reduce the effects of some medical conditions. This writing is private, and we need not share it with anyone to experience these benefits. Writing with the intention of honest self-exploration allows us to become our own compassionate listener and improve our well-being. When we talk or think, the words quickly evaporate like fog in the sunlight. We often do not remember what we have said or thought. And since thousands of our thoughts today are the same ones we had yesterday, it s easy to fall into rumination and stuckness without realizing it. But when we write, the words become tangible; we can see them and consider their weight and meaning in our lives. Writing like this makes it easier to listen to ourselves, particularly in difficult times. The unruly thoughts and emotions captured on the page become more manageable, as if we poured them into a container where, from that small distance, we can safely reflect on them and offer compassion and support to the fallible human being who lives within our skin. Journaling is also a proven, evidence-based therapeutic method for healing, selfempowerment, and self-directed change, among other things. You can certainly keep a journal if you re in therapy, but you can also keep one if you re not. In fact, keeping a journal in itself can almost be like having a therapist and it s much cheaper. Modern life does not often provide the quiet time or peaceful space to reflect on our lives we must first choose to take this time for ourselves and then make the commitment to this practice in whichever ways suit us best. With this booklet, you will see for yourself how journaling works by using some basic techniques you can do in 15 minutes or less (or more if you like). Journaling even just a few times a week provides comfort, builds resilience, and helps restore well-being as you continue on your life journey. Remember that journaling has no rules (yay!), so do your best to just write down whatever appears without criticism or judgment. Whatever you write is right for that moment. Keep your journal private so you can be honest on the page. It s helpful to date all your entries so you have a timeline. I invite you to ready your pen, open your heart, and let the words flow! Barbara 1

3 3 Words An important part of well-being is learning self-awareness: How do you feel in body, mind, and spirit? What thoughts are you thinking? How are those thoughts affecting your physical body? What emotions are you experiencing? An easy way to become more self aware at any time is to quickly write down three words that describe how you feel in body, mind, or spirit at that moment. This is one of the fastest journaling techniques ever! In your journal, you can write it this way: Three words that describe how I feel right now are: 5-Minute Sprint This basic technique is useful when you re overwhelmed, don t have much time, or need clarity and focus. When you keep your pen moving, you ll be surprised how much you can write in five minutes. One way to use the 5-Minute Sprint: You can simply open your journal and begin to write, or you can choose a prompt, like one of these, to begin your journal entry. 1) Look back at the three words you wrote down about how you were feeling. Which one is the strongest feeling? Write your prompt in your journal and continue writing from here: I m feeling right now because OR use one of these: 2) Something on my mind right now 3) My heart is telling me. 4) If I could 2

4 After you have completed your journal entry, you can also choose to write a reflection. This is your observation of yourself during the writing process. It s an element that can make your journaling more effective and more insightful. In your reflection, you are free to write about anything and everything you might feel or notice, as long as it focuses on what happened as you wrote your entry. For instance, your reflection might explore: What happened as you wrote? What was going on in your body? What surprised you? Did this technique work for you? Did you have an aha! moments? What did you teach yourself or discover? Reflection if you choose: To write a reflection, read your journal entry again and then write a few sentences of reflection. You can begin however you like, or you can use this or a similar prompt: As I wrote this, I noticed Unsent Letter Writing a letter you know you will never send is a great way to deal with troublesome issues and people. When you need to vent or rant and we all do from time to time it allows you to let loose without offending or hurting anyone. It s also a great method of exploring various aspects of yourself or of relationships, simply explaining yourself, writing to someone no longer in your life, or finding clarity with a painful issue. You can write an unsent letter to any person living or not, real or not or any thing or situation, such as an illness or life situation. To whom or what would you like to write a letter that will never be sent? Begin as you would any letter, with: Dear, and end with a closing such as Love, Sincerely, Cordially, or whatever you like, and your name underneath. Reflection if you choose: As I wrote this, I noticed. 3

5 Perspectives Perspectives is a good technique to help with making a decision, understanding yourself or others, envisioning your future, or exploring roads you did not take in the past. It allows you to explore the possibilities by getting in touch with your inherent inner wisdom. As Kathleen Adams writes in Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth, We often block ourselves from really knowing what we want because we think we can t have it or we shouldn t want it. But we hold in our awareness, even if it is on the unconscious level, an inherent wisdom that wants to guide us in the direction of our fullest development. The Perspectives technique can give this wisdom a voice. If, for instance, you choose to write about a conflict with another person, you could write about the situation through their eyes. If you need to make a decision, write about it from both (or more) sides, describing what that decision would mean to your life and how it would affect you. If you are envisioning your future, write the future date in your journal and write in present tense, as if you are already living that future. ( I am rather than I will ) You can also write to your past self with words of warning, encouragement, or consolation, for instance. Begin your Perspective entry however you like, allowing yourself to be as honest as possible. Write for at least minutes, and go longer if you like. Reflection if you choose: As I wrote this, I noticed. 3 Words If you wrote down your 3 Words before you began writing and then wrote about a difficult subject, it can be enlightening to write down 3 more words at the end. Many times, your feelings will have changed (it s fine if they did not), and the second list increases your awareness of how your physical and emotional state can change with a few minutes of writing about what is on your heart and in your mind. 4

6 Journaling Resources Adams, Kathleen Journal to the Self: Twenty-two Paths to Personal Growth. New York: Grand Central Publishing. Baldwin, Christina Life s Companion: Journal Writing As A Spiritual Practice. New York: Bantam Dell. DeSalvo, Louise Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives. Boston: Beacon Press. Francisco, Leia Writing Through Transitions: A Guide for Transforming Life Changes. Kerrville, TX: Leia Francisco Associates. Jacobs, Beth, PhD Writing For Emotional Balance. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Pennebaker, James W., PhD; John F. Evans, EdD Expressive Writing for Health. Enumclaw, WA: Idyll Arbor Stahura, Barbara and Susan B. Schuster, M.A., CCC-SLP After Brain Injury: Telling Your Story. Wake Forest, NC: Lash & Associates Publishing/Training. Barbara Stahura Barbara Stahura, certified journal facilitator, began her journaling work by guiding people with brain injury and family caregivers in harnessing the power of therapeutic journaling for healing and well-being. Today she creates and presents online and in-person journaling programs on a number of topics under the umbrella of A Living, Breathing Story: Journaling to Discover Your Empowered Self. She has presented journaling programs for state Brain Injury Association/ Alliance conferences, the National Guard Bureau and the Arizona National Guard, people with cancer, equine-facilitated therapeutic groups, Ivy Tech Community College, University of Southern Indiana, and elsewhere. Co-author of the acclaimed After Brain Injury: Telling Your Story, the first journaling book for people with brain injury, Barbara is a member of the faculty of the Therapeutic Writing Institute. She lives in Indiana with her husband. 5