Journaling
Inka Land is a psychologist (MSc neuropsychology), YouTuber, podcast host, co-author of the Resilient Being book and Biohacker’s Brain Nutrition Guide, and the co-founder of the Biohacking Women Online Course. She helps women in business to improve their mental and brain health with an evidence-based healthy lifestyle.
“Keeping a record of personal thoughts and feelings always helpes me to feel better, reduce overwhelm, and get clarity over my thoughts.” – Inka Land
Overview
Journaling daily provides an organized vehicle for inner dialogue. It helps to connect, clarify, and accept thoughts and feelings. It helps to let go of stress and anxiety, reinforces more positive narratives and emotions, and can even help to overcome trauma.
When you write, you can deal with your thoughts in a safe space. The journal doesn’t judge or try to advise. When you write, you help yourself to clarify and understand your thoughts constructively and objectively. Moving thoughts from the head into a paper can create a cognitive distance that helps you to look at situations from “an outsider's point of view.” In this way, the journal prompts self-reflection and self-awareness.
Foundations
Writing an expressive journal for 20 minutes each morning can lead to a positive transformation in mental health and life. As you put your thoughts into words, you gain insights into your mind, behavior, and thought patterns, leading to greater self-understanding.
Journal allows you to unload the mental baggage that may be weighing you down, offering emotional relief. Writing about challenges or dilemmas can even lead to innovative problem-solving. In some cases, journaling can be a way to cope and overcome past traumas.
Journaling can also enhance communication skills, making it easier to express yourself to others, improve relationships, and reduce misunderstandings.
A Meta-analysis shows that journaling is most beneficial when done for 30 days or more.
Instructions
Journal at least once a day.
This journaling method is called Expressive Writing.
1. Choose a dedicated 20 minutes for your journaling. It can be in the morning the first thing you wake up or in the evening after work.
2. Choose an experience of your life that you would like to process. Especially that kind of event that still evokes emotion but about which you’ve rarely discussed.
3. Start writing about the experience. Describe it, how it affected you, your relationships, your career, and your life. What emotions come up? How it relate to your childhood and your current life situation?
Tip 1: Write about feelings and thoughts, not only feelings. If you only ruminate in your journal, you may reinforce negative feelings. Therefore it’s important to include feelings and thoughts about the event – like what did/can help you cope with it and how it did/will make you grow and become stronger. Write about how you can make sense of the event, what you learned, what aspects you want to heal and strengthen yourself, and what you can do to overcome that trauma. The most effective journaling moves from emotions to thoughts.
Tip 2: Draw. Studies also show that drawing can enhance the efficacy of journaling. So you can include drawings of the event in the journal as long as you write.
Tip 3: Keep it to yourself. The efficacy comes from writing openly and honestly, without fearing judgment and knowing other people won’t read the journal. Therefore, keep your journal to yourself and ensure others won’t read it.
Tip 4: If you feel too overwhelmed by writing about events or feelings, you can start by writing down three things that went well lately or writing about things you feel grateful for.
Tip 5: Use an existing journal with pre-generated questions such as the 5-minute journal (there are also mobile apps for this method).
Conclusion
The morning journal challenge is a transformative habit for self-awareness, self-reflection, and mental health. Health and self-development are not all about diets and supplements, but they all start with the level of mental models, daily thoughts, and memories. Understanding your behavioral patterns and thought processes with the help of an expressive journal takes you to the next level of growth and self-discovery.
Please share your experience with journaling and what kind of discoveries you have made through the habit.