by Jodie Eckleberry-Hunt
In 1986, social psychologist, Dr. James Pennebaker began an experiment that would transform mind/body medicine for years to come.
He asked people who had experienced a traumatic event to write. One group (control group) was asked to write daily about superficial topics for four days. The other group (experimental group) was asked to write about their deepest thoughts, feelings, and experiences related to the traumatic event(s). They were encouraged to really let go and allow themselves to experience whatever came up.
The initial finding of the writing intervention was that the experimental group trauma felt worse, while the control group had no change.
Longer term, however, the experimental group reported improvement in distress and traumatic physical/emotional symptoms and less illness. They had improvement in functional overall.
Studies Reveal the Health Benefits of Expressive Writing Every Day
Since this initial experiment, there have been voluminous studies of the use of expressive writing for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, immune function, gastrointestinal disorders, chronic pain, and on and on.
There is robust evidence that expressive writing or journaling has a positive impact upon the immune system such that it boosts resistance to viral infections and helps folks recover from illnesses more quickly.
While we do not fully understand the mechanism behind the effectiveness of journaling, there are many theories.
First, journaling is cathartic and can be a great way to confess things that we are too afraid to tell others.
This is called the confession effect. Just getting these powerful negative feelings out gives a release, but this is not enough in and of itself.
Journaling (writing every day) is a great way to slow down our thoughts and experiences while we are translating them into language.
The brain is taking very complex material and digesting it as it assigns language. This helps the brain find a place to put over-the-top experiences so that they aren’t free floating.
There is also an element of exposure therapy with writing every day.
By facing difficult – even traumatic experiences, thoughts, feelings – we develop a level of familiarity. While I would not call this a comfort with our fears, it is definitely empowering to face fears.
When we face our fears, they become less threatening over time. Another word for this is habituation. Through this process, we can become more aware of our own negative, judgmental self-talk that gets in the way of moving on.
Finally, the process of expressive writing helps people create meaning.
The creation of meaning allows folks to actively decide what sense they wish to make of terrible events. In this way, people can begin to own the direction their lives take after feeling victimized, hurt, or otherwise traumatized by others and outside events.
I call this moving from being a victim to a survivor. Someone recently suggested a third stage, which is thriver.
How Do I Write Every Day?
What trips a lot of people up in beginning journaling is the search for a prescriptive approach.
We do not have a step-by-step method to writing. There is no one way to journal, which I think it maximally inclusive to a lot of different styles and personalities.
Some people do it daily at a certain time of the day. Others do it when they feel they need it most. Some people like to include gratitude. Some people, like me, enjoy swearing a bit.
Dr. Pennebaker has taken a middle-of-the-road approach. He suggests that people journal somewhere between every day to every couple of days for 10-20 minutes. Format is personal to the writer. Expressive writing is individual.
What is most important is that folks find a comfort zone knowing that the grammar is irrelevant and that no one will read the journal. What is essential is to allow all thoughts and feelings and having the courage to express those more deeply without judgment.
If judgment comes up, notice it. Challenge it. The better you understand yourself, the more effective you will be in daily life, especially when triggered.
Writing Every Day Tip: Try Doing It Just Before Bedtime
I often recommend journaling before bedtime as a way to sort out thoughts and feelings so that the mind can let go for sleep.
It is also a way to organize thoughts and anxieties about the next day that might interfere with deeper sleep. One can write about worries about tomorrow and jot down a tentative plan so that if sleep is disturbed, there is assurance that the issue is covered.
Nighttime journaling is not for trauma. It is more an approach to managing daily anxiety – especially if sleep is easily disrupted with worry.
A Word of Caution When Writing Every Day
A word of caution is that journaling should not simply be venting and ruminating. It is not good to just write all the bad things about one’s day, each day or repeatedly writing about the same negative thoughts and experiences.
There needs to be some deeper level of understanding and ownership regarding change and moving on. Journaling is finding a way to use the information to make one’s life better, and this is not possible if it is only focused on complaints.
As a psychologist, journaling is one of the indispensable tools I use with all of my patients, which is why I include it as an essential tool in all of my self-help books, particularly Badass Stories: Grit, Growth, Hope, and Healing.
I view journaling as not only a way to overcome trauma but also a way to celebrate strengths, victories, and goal attainment. It is a great method to document the journey of life and remind yourself that you are badass.
It is way too easy to become overwhelmed with things that don’t go well. Sometimes we need a written record to witness all that we achieve. Journaling is a great way to remind ourselves just how far we have come and the direction we wish to go next.
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Jodie Eckleberry-Hunt is a recovering people pleaser, control freak, worrier and motherf*cker. One thing she knows is that life sometimes hurts, and we can’t run from that. We have a choice of whether or not to deny it or go with it. She’s learned that going with it is a better investment, but we need to laugh while doing it.
After more than 20 years of providing counseling services, Eckleberry-Hunt developed the idea of combining cognitive-behavioral techniques, mindfulness techniques and profanity to help people get over themselves with a good belly laugh.
She has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, is board-certified in health psychology, and has a psychology practice in Michigan where she lives with her husband, two teenage sons and the dog prince, Bacon. She is a human being and a work in progress — just like you.
For more info, please visit her website and connect with her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Badass Stories: Overcoming life’s many disappointments begins with one thing: grit. But what is grit, and how can we know what it looks like in the sh*tshow of life?
Jodie Eckleberry-Hunt is showing readers how to do just that in “Badass Stories: Grit, Growth, Hope, and Healing in the Sh*tshow,” (Feb. 14, 2023, Turner).
Drawing from her own experience and psychology practice, psychologist Eckleberry-Hunt, author of “Getting to Good Riddance: A No-Bullsh*t Breakup Survival Guide,” weaves together a collection of gritty stories of survival, hope, and healing in the face of overwhelming pain and adversity.
Badass Stories illustrates how real people have used tools like grit and hope to make it through life’s challenges — great and small — and foster growth and healing in the process. These seriously motivational tales will inspire you to harness the grit it takes to succeed, show up for the fight, call out your own bullsh*t, and become the Badass you were meant to be!