I’ll be the first to admit that it takes dedication when it comes to journaling.
It’s an awkward start (is there a proper introduction to journaling?) and being vulnerable, even if it’s written down in a private notebook and meant only for yourself, is a scary thought. Still, many encourage journaling as a daily habit and practice.
The University of Rochester Medical Center claims: “One of the ways to deal with any overwhelming emotion is to find a healthy way to express yourself. This makes a journal a helpful tool in managing your mental health.” Writing down your thoughts, actions, and feelings daily can alleviate symptoms if you find yourself mentally distraught. It’s also pretty great at helping you organize your thoughts, prioritize what needs to be done, and keep a record of repeated behavior. To be clear, journaling is not a cure for mental health, it is merely an aspect of a recommended better lifestyle.
Of course, journaling is not just for mental health. For those of us who are students, it can be quite beneficial.
According to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, journaling can:
- Improve writing and communication skills
- Build self-confidence
- Increase emotional intelligence
- Help achieve goals
- Inspire creativity
- Sharpen critical thinking skills
- Better physical health
- Heightened academic performance
As a student in a major and minor that require copious amounts of writing, having confidence in yourself and your work is key to being able to write a good paper. Writing skills improve as you move forwards, keeping in mind the feedback given. If you journal, it will become easier to pick up on writing details such as syntax and tone, making writing your paper an easier process—once you’ve made your thesis, of course.
With improved skills and better confidence in yourself, you’ll soon find yourself applying this attitude toward other aspects of your academic career or even your personal life. Perhaps, before journaling, you didn’t raise your hand in class. But, after journaling, you may find yourself with your hand in the air or even just blurting the answer. With this attitude, goal setting and achieving will come much more easily, boosting your self-confidence even more. Having a better mindset means creativity flows and brings forth new ideas for you to think about or even pursue, which sharpens critical thinking skills. Critical thinking means to analyze and evaluate, or to use a cliche, to think outside of the box. Critical thinking is how we grow our minds.
In addition to growing your mind, journaling can even benefit physical health! Surprisingly, the University of St. Augustine reports “improved liver function, reduced blood pressure, improved immune system functioning, and improved athletic performance” as proof. Considering stress is linked to one’s blood pressure, it only makes sense that being able to write down what is stressing you, and essentially lessening the weight of it, can help.
As I mentioned, journaling takes dedication, but I have some tips for those who might find themselves struggling.
First, don’t worry about how much you write. Write as little or as much as you want, but make sure to jot down the date. Not only will it separate the entries, but in case you ever want to reflect in the future, you have a timeline to work off of and see how you’ve changed. And don’t be afraid to write with a colored pen. I personally write each entry in a different color (red, blue, teal, forest green, pink, purple, etc.) and cycle through them. It makes the writing more fun in my opinion and it lessens the seriousness of how vulnerable you’re being. It feels more healing and restorative in purpose, which it should be.
Like any habit, journaling takes commitment and consistency. While many recommend the practice, the choice is up to the individual. And while journaling seems simple enough, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s a process, and like most processes, it takes time. You won’t see the benefits right away, and even then, each person is different so don’t feel like you’re failing if you find yourself not getting these exact benefits after a while.