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Improve your Health Through Journaling

© Gretchen Malik

You may already know that personal writing will improve your emotional health, but recent studies completed have proven that writing contributes directly to your physical health too.

Tests conducted by a team of clinical psychologists and immunologists demonstrated that subjects who wrote thoughtfully and emotionally about traumatic experiences achieved the following results:

increased T-cell production; a drop in physician visits; fewer absentee days; generally improved physical health.

Journaling or personal writing takes many forms. Here are some tips for you on how to use a journal for your health.

Most men resist personal writing until some traumatic experience, such as divorce, a change in the job or work environment forces them to seek extra help. Even everyday frustrations can provide topics for your writing. Journaling works every time it's used.

You don't need special tools or abilities. You can use any notebook or paper for your writing. Since journaling is for your own use, spelling, handwriting, and grammar are not major concerns. The purpose of writing in the journal is for you to get your feelings and experiences down on paper.

Writing in a journal uses simple techniques.

Be an observer of your life. Write about events that are happening to you or around you, in a way that helps put them into perspective. This is especially effective when writing about life changes, job or career, relationships or illness.

Write about the event as though you were observing yourself. Use "she" and "he" rather than "I" in your sentences. Describe the activities as an outside observer. Frequently this helps give perspective to an otherwise very personal experience.

Write about your feelings, all of them. Put your pain, fear, anger, frustrations, and grief down on paper. Say what you want or need to say on the page. The journal won't judge or criticize you. You can use it as a safe place to let out everything you feel. Let your intuition lead you in your writing, and in what to do with the words once you've written them. Try it when you're feeling joy and gratitude, too.

Begin with the phrase, "Right now I feel...," then let yourself write whatever comes out. If you run out of feelings, re-read what you've just written and then write the next thing that comes to mind.

You can write a letter in your journal to a person, place, event, or belief. The journal gives you a powerful way to express what you experience and feel about any situation. Your journal will give you a place to express your true feelings when you may not feel comfortable doing it more directly. This technique is especially helpful in dealing with death or divorce.

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