Overview
Journaling is one method of helping people cope with any type of traumatic event. Expressive writing has been found to improve physical and psychological health for people with a number of physical and mental health conditions. One of the benefits of journaling is that it’s inexpensive—the cost of paper and a pen—and can be done almost anywhere or anytime. Some of the general health benefits of journaling include improved cognitive function, counteracting many of the negative effects of stress, and strengthened immune function.
Benefits for People With PTSD
In recent years, research has shown that journaling may help people with PTSD in several different ways. Psychologically, expressive writing appears to help people better cope with the symptoms of PTSD, such as anxiety and anger. Physically, journaling can make a difference as well, reducing body tension and restoring focus. In addition, we are learning that traumatic events may lead not just to post-traumatic stress, but to post-traumatic growth. In other words, there can be silver linings and experiencing trauma may help you change in positive ways as well. Expressive writing has been found not only to improve the symptoms of PTSD and coping with them, but it also appears to help foster post-traumatic growth, or the ability to find meaning in and have positive life changes following a traumatic event.
Before You Begin
Before journaling, find a notebook and a favorite pen. Some people prefer to have more than one notebook, reserving one to use as a gratitude journal, and the other to include all other thoughts and feelings. You may want to think about where you will keep your journal between writings. Some people prefer to keep it in a private location, whereas others don’t feel this need. What’s most important is that your words are only accessible to those who you wish to read them.
Steps for Journaling
Follow these six steps to begin journaling:
Journaling Tips
Here are some other tips to keep in mind while you’re writing:
Journaling Prompts
Here are a few prompts to get you started or to continue when you feel stuck:
Are there ways in which you can use your experience to help others? Brainstorm ideas. Describe some of the key causes of stress in your life now. Has this changed since your traumatic experience? If so how? Can you pinpoint why? How did your experience impact others? This could be either others that were involved or the people in your life now. Is there anything you wish you had really taken the time to appreciate before the experience or that you’d give anything to have back? What do you wish you could do differently or change? Why? Write about your traumatic experience. Be as detailed as you can with what happened and how it made you feel, both emotionally and physically. Write about what you learned from the experience, whether it’s good or bad. How does the experience affect you now? Give details.
Looking for the Positive
Knowing that people with PTSD experience not just stress but post-traumatic growth may bring a small ray of light to a difficult situation. Some people have found that taking the time to write about these positive changes, in essence, writing about gratitude, is helpful as they heal. If you’re looking for evidence of post-traumatic growth in your life, think of anything you might call a “silver lining” of your experience. Some people speak of the “gifts of PTSD” or the “benefits of PTSD” when speaking of these changes. Certainly, you may need to make a stretch in doing this, especially if you have only recently developed PTSD and the traumatic event that stimulated your distress is fairly recent. In time, and in addition to working through the difficulties in your life related to your diagnosis, you may begin to have moments when you catch yourself writing “what PTSD has taught me.” Expressing your thoughts in writing in this way may not only help you work through the awfulness of the trauma, but it can make you more aware of your healing along the way.
