5 Ways Journaling Will Support Your Self Care (Even if You Aren’t a Writer)

When I was a teenager, way back in the days before cell phones, social media, and blogs, I found solace in the pages of my many many journals. I’d spend hours in my bedroom pouring words onto blank pages. Some words came out in cringey drama filled emotions over friendships and crushes or worries about teachers, assignments and grades. Other words wered woven into emo poetry or sketched doodles originating from the depths of my tortured young adult soul.

I never considered myself a “writer” until diving fully into blogging as an adult. Sharing words on the internet for a wider audience affirmed that what I was experiencing resonated with others. But even then, becoming a writer wasn’t my end goal. The goal was having a creative and supportive way to manage my emotions and find a simple outlet for self-care.

Today I am not a daily journaler. You don’t have to be one either.

You also don’t have to be a writer to reap the benefits of keeping a journal.

So many times when we pick up a creative hobby or try something new to support our self-care routine, we believe we have to do it perfectly in order to do it “right”. However, when it comes to keeping a journal there really is no right or wrong.

Letting go of journaling perfection is precisely why I published the Cultivate Creativity Journal as an “anytime, anywhere” resource to support your creative self-care routine. It’s guided enough to give you a place to start, but open ended enough to develop your own process for using it whenever and however you desire.

5 ways journaling will support your self-care routine (even if you aren’t a writer)

Still not sure if journaling is for you? Looking for a reminder of the good you’re doing every time you put words on a page? Allow the benefits that follow to be a source of motivation to pick up a pen and starting putting it to paper more regularly.

Keeping a Journal Reduces Stress

Journaling can help alleviate stress by providing a private outlet outside of your mind for expressing and processing emotions. There have been many studies showing how expressive writing can be a viable stress relief strategy. And what I love even more is that it is a great strategy for those who can’t engage in more physical forms of stress relief due to injury or disability. As someone who has had ups and down from a young age with a physically exhausting chronic illness, it comes as no surprise that writing became a lifeline for me instead of sports.

Keeping a Journal Increases Productivity

A 2014 Harvard study found reflection to be a powerful mechanism behind learning, concluding that people who journal have a 25% increase in brain performance compared to people who don’t. As someone who deals daily with the challenges of neurodivergence, I am often prone to daydreaming and getting lost in thought. Keeping a journal helps keep me on track, plan, prepare, and stay on course. In other words, when I keep a journal my mind is more clear. My journal is a place to not only a space for creative writing, it’s also a place to list, brain dump, and prioritize my schedule.

Keeping a Journal Leads to More Mindfulness

Writing even a few sentences or for a few minutes each day can help bring you back to the present moment and be more aware of your thoughts and feelings. Physically picking up a pen and a piece of paper allows you to get off the technology hamster wheel and be more in tune with your brain and body connection. Instead of scrolling social media or reacting to whatever beep or ding pops up on a screen, you can focus on your own emotions. A journal is a place to get centered and be more present and aware of your needs, wants, desires, and surroundings.

Keeping a Journal Improves Mental Health & Physical Health

From depression, to anxiety, to trauma, to other mental health conditions, keeping a journal gives space for negative thoughts to flow out of the mind and onto a place where they can be processed in a more analytical, less emotional way. From there you can decide how to approach those thoughts and take the right next steps towards resolution. Psychology Today references 2013 study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine showing the physical health benefits of journaling. This study found that regularly engaging in expressive styles of writing can aid in the faster healing of cuts or wounds!

Keeping a Journal Enhances Creativity

Journaling frees your mind and brings forward a spirit of curiosity. That freedom of expression can lead to other areas of creative exploration. If you’re stuck in a creative rut, or struggle with feelings that you aren’t creative, a journal can be a an accessible place to open your mind to new possibilities. If you’re a total beginner with keeping a journal and don’t know where to begin, simple prompts such as “I need…”, “I am grateful for…”, or “I feel…” can help you just start writing.

Creativity does not need to be complicated to be effective. Start today with the Cultivate Creativity Journal and let’s get curious about what sparks your productivity, creative expression, and well-being!