The Joy of Journalling

Therapeutic writing can be a game-changer for Highly Sensitive People.

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Of all the research I encountered in my psychology doctorate, few studies surprised me as much as Dr James Pennebaker’s 1986 paper on “expressive writing.”

An American social psychologist, Dr Pennebaker had started by studying the emotional impact of what he termed the “secrets” trauma survivors carry when they are unable to talk about what happened to them. His findings led him to become curious about the possible therapeutic benefits of writing.

In Dr Pennebaker’s landmark study, participants wrote continuously for 15 minutes a day for a four-day period about their most traumatic experiences. A control group wrote about superficial topics. The former group had fewer health visits in the six months following the experiment. That startling finding prompted hundreds of follow-up studies that appeared to confirm the therapeutic benefits of writing, and even demonstrated biological markers such as improved immune responses, decreased blood pressure, improved memory and better sleep.

“Better than therapy”

Dr Pennebaker says expressive writing can be better than therapy — since not everyone will feel ready to open up to another person in the way that they can pour their heart into a confidential journal, which can later be hidden, thrown away or burned. (To hear Dr Pennebaker speak about expressive writing, check out this video).

Of course, like all psychology research, there are many caveats, counter-examples and unknowns — and the impact of writing can vary tremendously between individuals. Dr Pennebaker says that distraction might be the best strategy in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event — and has described playing Pac-Man video games for hours to deal with his own stressful experiences. But there seems little doubt that some form of expressive writing can be very beneficial for many people — and that’s certainly true for HSPs.

Self-compassion

I learned about the power of journalling first-hand in my mid-20s, after I had finished my doctorate, and was experiencing a period of intense anxiety. My mind was very busy, and all the overthinking was keeping me awake at night. I instinctively bought a notebook and began to write down whatever was going through my head.

I found this simple practice brought me huge relief. Writing helped me to bring more structure to my racing thoughts, notice themes linking my experiences, and to understand my emotional reactions. I began to get a clearer sense of the “real me,” and my true values and desires.

The breakthrough came when — seeing my thoughts reflected on the page — I realised for the first time how much I was subjecting myself to negative self talk. If I was going to stop my self-sabotaging patterns, I’d need to learn to reframe these inner dialogues and speak to myself more gently. Through journalling, I connected with a felt-sense of self-compassion for the very first time.

For about three years, I journalled daily — and I still have stacks of notebooks from that time. Now I use the technique more occasionally, but I have many clients who have felt naturally drawn towards journalling and use it as part of their reflections and processing between one-on-one sessions.

And if you want to hear a detailed and deeply moving account of journalling to cope with a series of immensely painful losses, I highly recommend this TEDx talk by Kerstin Pilz, a writer and coach. As Pilz says:

“A regular personal writing practice is as beneficial to your well-being as a daily walk, or a regular yoga practice. It will make you feel focused, calm and connected. It’s a great antidote to stress, and is available to each and every one of us at the cost of pen and paper.”

Journalling tips

Journalling can take some practice to establish as a habit, and the most important thing is that we don’t turn it into another reason to beat ourselves up if we don’t get to it as often as we’d like. Don’t force it — or turn it into a chore. And it’s worth bearing in mind that, whilst journalling can be helpful, there are many other nourishing practices that might suit you better at a given time, such as walking in nature, exercise or singing, to name a few.

Dr Pennebaker recommends experimenting with journalling to find what works best for you. Pen to paper is good, but you can also try typing — or recording voice notes, or even writing with your finger in the air.

It can help to establish a regular practice by setting aside a certain amount of time — say 10 minutes — to write at a particular time of day, such as after dinner. Or commit to filling a single page of a notebook. Once you start to get into the habit, it becomes an activity you turn to naturally to enrich your inner world when things are going smoothly — and to help you work through challenges.

Happy writing!

See you next week,