WEBVTT - 219. The psychology of journalling 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:09.280 Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Psychology of Your Twenties, 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:12.280 the podcast where we talk through some of the big 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:16.880 life changes and transitions of our twenties and what they 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:22.240 mean for our psychology. 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:26.920 Hello everybody, Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:31.240 the podcast. New listeners, old listeners. Wherever you are in 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:33.559 the world, it is so great to have you here. 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:37.000 Back for another episode as we of course break down 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:41.400 dive into explore the psychology of our twenties. If you 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:44.199 have ever had a brush with the self help or 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:48.879 the wellness community, the wellness space, which I'm assuming that 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:53.680 you have, considering you're listening to this podcast, someone somewhere, 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:58.160 at some stage has probably recommended that you journal or 0:00:58.240 --> 0:01:00.920 told you about how amazing journal has been for them, 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:03.600 whether you took them up on that or not, whether 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:06.120 you decided to give it a go, whether you saw 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:09.000 the appeal but you've just never been able to get 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:11.600 into it. I think journaling is one of the holy 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:14.679 grails of the wellness community, of the therapy community. It's 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:18.319 one of the biggest pieces of advice that people like 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:21.480 to give to others when they are stressed, when they 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:25.200 are anxious, when they're grieving, heartbroken, even in good times. 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:29.040 Have you tried journaling? Why don't you journal about it? 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:31.600 And what is the deal with this? Why is it 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:34.480 so amazing to be able to write down your feelings? 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:38.360 Why does it always come up in these discussions? Well, 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:42.200 today I want to talk about it. By popular request, 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:46.160 by popular demand from so many listeners, what is the 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:50.000 magic behind journaling and how can we really embrace it? 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:52.880 I am going to admit I'm one of those annoying 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.920 people who has been journaling for years and who swears 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.680 by it. I feel myself getting I wouldn't say worse, 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:02.080 but more or detached from my life when I don't journal, 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:05.200 and I definitely feel the quality of my experiences and 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:10.440 my emotions improve when I do. Journaling for me makes 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.880 me very present, It makes me more reflective of my life. 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:17.320 I feel closer to my memories. I love it for 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:20.519 so many reasons, but I also get that it's kind 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:24.000 of hard to get into if it's not something that 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:27.080 you're a regular at or that you have done very often, 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.520 or if it's you know, not how you necessarily have 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:34.800 tended to process your emotions. Everyone that likes it really 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:37.000 likes it, but it's kind of like reading or any 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:42.480 hobby or exercising or eating healthy. We know we should 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:44.880 be doing it, we know that we will feel better 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:48.760 after doing it, but there are always so many mental barriers, 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.520 so many empty notebooks we promise to start writing in 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:54.440 at the start of the year, so many times that 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.000 we plan to journal in the evening, and then we 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:01.360 just never get around to it. So today, let's talk 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:05.680 about the fundamentals and of course the psychology of journaling. 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:10.440 Why it helps our brains process trauma, why it helps 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:15.680 our bodies heal faster, how it improves our intelligence, our friendships, 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:20.280 our memories, but also more importantly, how to actually make 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:24.960 it an enjoyable practice and one that is actually useful 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:29.520 rather than a chure. How to actually want to journal 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.040 and where to even start. I'm going to give you 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:37.920 the fundamentals of journaling and how to actually enjoy journaling, 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:42.280 and some fun journal prompts, and also really talk about 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:46.320 some of the myths and misconceptions about this method and 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:50.320 what it can actually do for our health. And notice 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:53.480 how I didn't just say mental health. Our health on 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:58.320 a holistic level, from physical to social to emotional. There 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:01.920 is a lot to talk about without further Ado, let's 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:11.560 get into the psychology and the fundamentals of journaling. Journaling 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:14.480 has a lot of different forms, you know, from the 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:19.040 tried and tested notebook to a structured gratitude journal or 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.880 a workbook, a blog, I don't know if people still 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:26.480 blog anymore, maybe an Instagram account, even your notes app. 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:30.279 Anything that causes you to express your thoughts in a 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:34.680 written form outside the confines of your mind. To me, 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:38.240 that counts as journaling. I think we have a very 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:42.320 narrow picture of what journaling looks like, and it's a 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:46.640 person at a desk writing page after page, or you know, 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:50.680 a very Victorian image of a bronze character with an 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:55.280 ink and a quill penning very beautiful poetry. Not at all. 0:04:55.520 --> 0:05:00.320 Journaling can be as large or small, as romance, antic, 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:04.000 or practical as you want it to be. And I 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:07.520 think that's what makes it so incredible. It is just 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:11.680 so accessible and cost effective. Anyone can do it in 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.280 the way that works for them. It's kind of like 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:17.880 what running is for our physical health. If you have 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:20.120 shoes and you have your legs, you can run, and 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:22.680 if you have your brain and something to write on, 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:27.679 you can journal and you'll feel better afterwards. Hopefully. Most likely, 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:30.839 some people like to just like pour their heart out 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.760 every three months when they need it. There are people who, 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:36.760 like I said, write a page or more every day. 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:41.000 There is you know, list form. There is naming what 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:43.760 you're grateful for, what you know, what happened in your day, 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:46.920 your highlights and low lights. There is the kind of 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:51.000 journaling that is very structured and really keeps account of 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:54.440 what you're going through day by day. My point here 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:58.120 is that there are no rules. The only condition for 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:03.560 journaling is that you're finding some way to record your 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:09.080 personal thoughts, your feelings, insights, troubles or daily life. And 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:12.039 the final condition maybe not even a condition, maybe not 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:14.760 even a rule, but the beauty of journaling is that 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.520 it doesn't even need to be good. That's another thing 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:22.000 that I think sometimes holds us back from writing or 0:06:22.440 --> 0:06:25.200 saying that we are someone who journals. When we put 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:28.000 something on a page, or we put it down in writing, 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:32.440 it feels so permanent and so sacred, and I don't 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:34.080 know if it's just me, but we can't help but 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:38.120 picture someone reading it back, maybe in the future, and 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:43.360 getting to essentially appear directly into our lives. So sometimes 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:47.400 we fixate on making it worth it. We fixate on 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:51.600 it sounding good or using our need as handwriting, or 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:55.640 not coming off as to I don't know, to anything, 0:06:55.800 --> 0:07:00.360 not coming off as too loud or too emotional, true 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:03.960 sensitive in our own journal entries. But the thing is 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:06.839 is that journaling is strictly for you. There are no mistakes, 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:10.040 There are no bad entries except for the ones that 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:13.880 weren't written. There are no wrong thoughts. You know, no 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:15.960 one is going to give you a mark like it's 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:22.080 an assignment. As I said before, journaling is a self care, 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:26.000 self love practice. It's one of the only times that 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:29.960 everything gets to be about you and you get to 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:32.080 do it in the way that works best as long 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:36.080 as you are doing it. Journaling has an amazing reputation 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:38.640 when it comes to, I guess, healing some of our 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:43.360 biggest emotional afflictions, whether that is helping us with anxiety 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:47.880 and depression or grief, or even just managing everyday stresses. 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:50.520 I don't even think I would be able to count 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:53.920 the number of therapists that have been or have said 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.720 to me, Oh, have you tried journaling? Have you tried 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:00.880 writing about these feelings? Have you tried articu them in 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:05.160 written form. What exactly is so powerful about that, though, 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:08.520 because anyone can pick up a piece of paper and 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:12.320 a pen and write about how they're feeling, right, what 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:16.000 is the big secret here? Well, let's talk about it, 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:20.400 starting with the science and the evidence, of course, because 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:23.640 we're not going to be making any claims without some proof. 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:29.160 Journaling has basically been proven to have everything from psychological 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:33.440 to even physical benefits, which may surprise some of us. 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:36.120 It definitely surprised me, and we'll get to why in 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:40.440 a second. But starting with the more psychological side, the 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:43.560 moment when I think people really began to recognize the 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:47.400 benefits of this. What's from a landmark study in nineteen 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:51.760 eighty eight. And in this study, students were randomly assigned 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:57.240 to write about either very traumatic experiences or very superficial 0:08:57.320 --> 0:09:02.040 topics for four days in a world. Six weeks later, 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:06.120 those who had delved into traumatic experiences, who had really 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:10.640 written pages and pages about how they felt, the meaning 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:14.719 they applied, how it impacted their life, they actually reported 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:20.079 feeling a lot better. They reported more positive moods, lesser anxiety, 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:25.880 fewer illnesses than those who were writing about everyday experiences. 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:30.200 This is when journaling really began to be recommended more. 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:33.120 I'm sure when this study was first proposed back in 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:36.000 the eighties, people were like, you want to measure whether 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:42.160 writing something down is good for people. But after this 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:44.920 study was published, I think it kind of said something 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:48.920 that everyone was already thinking. When you actually find an 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:52.319 outlet for what is going on in your brain and 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:56.640 the kind of emotional and cognitive affliction that your problems 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:58.800 are causing you the mental strain. I guess when you 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:02.920 find an outlet for that, you feel better. And I 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:05.360 think that was one of the first times that people 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:08.400 had put that into words. People had been obviously writing 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:12.920 journal entries and poetry and novels and stories for as 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:16.040 long as humans had existed, but this study was when 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:20.120 someone really said, hey, you know, this actually has a 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:25.200 really positive impact on mental health, and people started recommending it. 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:27.440 They were basically like, oh, I better get on board. 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:30.000 This is such a cost effective method of making people 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:34.360 feel better. Since then, it's become a huge topic of conversation, 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:37.360 and so many more studies have been produced around that. 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.200 One of my favorite ones is a study that shows 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:44.480 that people who journal regularly twice a week recover from 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:49.920 heartbreak faster than those who don't, sometimes even twice as fast. 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:52.359 That was one of the estimates given by the researchers. 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:56.240 I don't know if you can really measure how far 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.640 someone gets over heartbreak, but there you go. There was 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.679 another study published only a couple years ago that said 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:05.679 journaling for fifteen minutes a day can increase our IQ, 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:10.040 our literal intelligence, and also our EQ, which is our 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:14.240 emotional intelligence. That makes you a better friend, That makes 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:17.600 you a better partner, a better coworker, more in touch 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:20.720 with your own emotions, of course, but also more in 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:26.120 tune and therefore empathetic to others. This stuff I think 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.840 we all know. Writing about your feelings makes you understand 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:32.199 them better, which means you understand yourself better, but also 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:36.560 others people who are also members of the human race. 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:41.080 That's fairly simple. But when we start looking at the 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:44.679 physical health benefits, that's when it really starts to get 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:47.840 so interesting and almost a little bit insane for me, 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:51.480 and the case for journaling just becomes even greater. So 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:53.560 let me tell you about a pretty amazing New Zealand 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:58.560 study from twenty thirteen which basically showed, maybe not showed 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:04.640 basically suggests did that writing helped our body heal itself 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:08.640 faster from physical injury. So it's not just that it 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:12.400 helps people recover from trauma or become more intelligent or 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:17.680 feel less stressed. It has physical healing properties. So in 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:22.240 this study, forty nine healthy adults aged sixty four to 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:27.520 ninety seven, they wrote about either a really upsetting event 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:33.959 or just their daily activities for twenty minutes after two 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:36.800 weeks had passed. To make sure that you know any 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:41.040 initial negative feeling stirred up by recalling those upsetting events 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:45.439 had passed, all the subjects had a biopsy on their arm, 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:48.920 basically meaning that a piece of tissue was removed from 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:53.040 their arms. They had a small wound. That wound was 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.920 then photographed for the next twenty one days while the 0:12:55.960 --> 0:13:00.480 group continued to keep journaling about either upsetting of events 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:05.760 or everyday events. On the eleventh day, seventy six percent 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:10.280 of the group that did expressive writing had fully healed, 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:14.080 with forty two percent of the control group having healed, 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:17.720 So forty two versus seventy six percent. How has that 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:21.560 not talked about more? That is such an astonishing study, 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:26.880 obviously small sample size, it would definitely need to be replicated. 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:29.760 But if you think that study was just a fluke 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:34.240 after it was released, even before people were really looking 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:37.280 into this, And there was another study that appeared in 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:41.320 the Journal of the American Medical Association, so not a 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:45.120 small journal, and it looked at patients with asthma and arthritis, 0:13:45.720 --> 0:13:47.760 half of who were again asked to write for twenty 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:50.120 minutes each day about something that was bothering them a 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:53.920 stressor a past trauma, and the other half who were 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.160 asked to just write about their daily life. Four months later, 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:02.320 the patients in the stressful writing group increased improvement on 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:07.960 objective clinical evaluations about their symptoms of asthma, arthritis, and 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:12.280 emotional distress. They were less stressed, they had fewer negative 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:16.800 symptoms of their asthma, and their situation that condition has 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:22.520 had deteriorated less. So the research is basically concluded writing 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:27.680 about something that was stressing them out, really engaging their 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:32.400 emotions through this practice not only helped these patients get 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:35.200 better in a sense, but it also kept them from 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:39.720 getting worse. Why is this the case? How is it 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:43.960 possible that writing could heal a wound or minimize the 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:46.720 chronic illness? And I want to obviously just state here 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:50.000 that we're not trying to I'm not trying to claim 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:54.520 that journaling is going to replace modern medicine and magically 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:57.600 everyone will get better. But what really comes down to 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:02.400 in all of these instances is stress. Stress kills ourselves. 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:08.640 Stress reduces our immune system functioning, Stress shortens our life expectancy, 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:11.920 It puts our body under strain. All of these things 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:16.080 obviously have a very big physical impact and can contribute 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:19.680 to pre existing illness or make us more susceptible to 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:24.680 new illness. But controlling our stress that helps control the 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:28.200 physical burden placed on our body. And that is why 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:31.880 journaling is shown to have these really wonderful, if not 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:37.880 unbelievable healing properties for physical, not just mental ailments, because 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:41.120 it basically gets our brain to process heavy emotions and 0:15:41.160 --> 0:15:46.440 experiences that would otherwise manifest in physical tension and physical turmoil. 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:48.320 I think it's just one of the many ways that 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.440 our mind and our body interact and impact each other, 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:53.800 and I think we don't explore that enough, especially in 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:58.920 Western medicine. We're so focused on treating symptoms rather than 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:03.320 holistically really thinking about the body and thinking about the 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:08.680 mind and how our psychology and our emotional state contributes 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:12.480 to how we're basically functioning. The reason that I think 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:16.240 journaling is so effective at managing stress or processing an emotion, 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:22.120 any emotion, is that it's an essentially an organizational system. 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:27.640 It's an organizational procedure. It's a way of cleaning things 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:31.560 up or making sense of things that we can't work 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:34.160 out by just thinking about them over and over again. 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.760 That's the curse of overthinking, something that I'm sure we 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:40.680 all do from time to time. It leads us to 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:44.160 believe that we are problem solving when actually we are 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:47.600 just making the issue more convoluted and getting further into 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:51.200 the labyrinth. And writing about it does something about the 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:55.440 thoughts and it kind of keeps track of where we've been. 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.480 But also, at a very basic level, it's a circuit breaker. 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:03.400 Generally gets us out of our mind. It kind of 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:07.960 removes us from the problem and allows us to write 0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:11.679 about it, not in the third person, but almost in 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:15.600 a more detached way. We have some form of emotional 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:19.080 distance that we don't get when we try and process 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:21.480 all of our feelings about a situation, all of our 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:28.080 heavy emotions in our brain alone. The more we practice journaling. Obviously, 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:31.879 in a moment, it can just help us really break 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:37.360 away from going over and over unnecessary details, not being 0:17:37.359 --> 0:17:41.159 able to find an exit to our thoughts. But the 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:43.639 more we practice it, the more it becomes a tool 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:49.639 to reprogram maladaptive thoughts, to reflect and remember our lives 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:52.959 more realistically, to actually be able to look back at 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:56.080 journal entries and be like, oh no, maybe my thoughts 0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:58.280 about that situation were wrong. This is how I remember 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:02.120 it at the time, and it helps us organize our 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:06.320 life and our thoughts and provide emotional catharsis. That is 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:10.280 one of my favorite words, catharsis when we really need it, 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:14.400 you know, like this thing is bothering me, this breakup, 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:20.080 this heartache, this assignment, this moment when I embarrass myself. 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:25.159 Let me really spend time trying to think about this 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:27.440 in a way that my brain normally wouldn't think about 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:30.879 it by writing about it. And I'm not looking for 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:34.760 a solution. I'm not journaling to find an answer. I'm 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:39.080 journaling just to process what I've been through. And that 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:42.399 is something that we don't always do because we are 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:46.520 too stuck in our feelings to really detach from them 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:49.879 and distance ourselves from them for a moment and just 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:53.560 think about the situation in the grandest scheme of things. 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:57.760 So basically what I'm trying to say in the most 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:01.920 convoluted way possible. Journaling is valuable and helps us deal 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:05.720 with stress and distress because it forces you to put 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:09.120 complicated emotions about your future, about your family, your friends, 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:12.199 your trauma, your day, whatever it may be. It forces 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:15.840 you to put those complicated emotions into some form of 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:19.520 coherent sentence or paragraph, and through that act you get 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:23.920 more clarity and you feel like you're getting somewhere. Everything 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:28.440 else that comes along with that is basically a benefit 0:19:28.480 --> 0:19:32.240 of not being consumed with over analyzing and overthinking a problem. 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:35.639 We have more space to begin to think about others, 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:39.119 to really listen to them, to be curious. Our memory 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:42.760 improves because we're not so caught up in ruminating. We 0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:46.000 sleep better, we enjoy life more, and that is what 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:49.640 really helps us activate a better version of ourselves through journaling. 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:52.800 I think it's not just that we are writing about 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:56.000 something and somehow that makes everything feel a little bit 0:19:56.560 --> 0:19:59.120 less heavy. Yes, that's a component of it, but it's 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:02.200 that we're using a new part of our brain, not 0:20:02.320 --> 0:20:05.159 just a problem solve, but to really go deeper, to 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:08.760 apply meaning, to think about things in a different light. 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:11.480 And here's the thing. It may be hard to start, 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:14.679 it's really hard to find the time to feel motivated. 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:19.000 But personally, I have never walked away from writing even 0:20:19.080 --> 0:20:21.399 just like a page or two, less than five hundred words, 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:26.560 and not felt better, not felt like something has been lifted. 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:29.560 And I really I don't think I'm the only one 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:32.720 who has had that experience. Okay, I feel like I've 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:36.000 gone on and on here about the benefits. Hopefully you're convinced, 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:39.800 but being convinced is one thing. Actually doing the thing 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:41.960 is a lot harder. Any of us could tell you 0:20:42.000 --> 0:20:44.840 that so many of us want to be the person 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:47.440 who journals. We want to have this catalog of our 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:50.000 life and our feelings, but we feel like we don't 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:51.880 have the time. We feel like we don't know where 0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:54.600 to start, we don't know what to write about. You know, 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:58.399 taking ten minutes to write about our feelings doesn't always 0:20:58.440 --> 0:21:03.440 feel as enjoyable immediately in the moment as the instant 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:06.960 gratification and pleasure that we get from our phones or 0:21:07.000 --> 0:21:10.080 from watching TV. That's how the fast Dope mean of 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:17.240 our entertainment cycle really works. Another barrier is perfectionism, you know, procrastination, boredom. 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:20.160 It's kind of tiring sometimes to write all the time. 0:21:20.720 --> 0:21:24.200 But I'm gonna stop us right there and kind of 0:21:24.240 --> 0:21:27.960 give you a heart truth. Life is full of excuses, 0:21:28.040 --> 0:21:30.439 and there is an excuse for everything. You can go 0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:33.240 your whole life is taking the easiest route. But the 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:37.600 thing about journaling is that it is such a small investment. 0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:41.920 It's basically free. It can take as little as five minutes. 0:21:42.240 --> 0:21:43.919 In a lot of those studies we just spoke of 0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:47.879 people only journaled for ten to twenty minutes. That's shorter 0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:52.920 than most TV episodes, and in comparison, the benefits are astounding. 0:21:53.520 --> 0:21:57.640 From a strictly you know, like pro cons perspective, there 0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:01.000 is no reason not to journal. Ratio of time and 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:05.199 effort to breakthroughs and mental clarity is like one to 0:22:05.280 --> 0:22:09.120 two million. So how do we build this habit even 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:12.920 when it feels difficult. Well, I've got you, guys. It's 0:22:12.960 --> 0:22:14.840 a message I get all the time from you. I 0:22:15.080 --> 0:22:18.720 always get people asking me about how to actually get 0:22:18.720 --> 0:22:21.399 into journaling, and I've thought about it a lot. So 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:26.120 we're going to discuss the four secret ingredients or foundations 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:29.520 to becoming a good journaler, how to make it feel 0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:33.000 not like a chore, how to actually be excited, and 0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:37.480 more importantly, how to actually integrate it into your identity 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:39.639 and as part of who you are. We're going to 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:43.160 talk about all of that and more after this short break. 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:51.439 Whenever someone asked me on tips about how to get 0:22:51.480 --> 0:22:54.680 into journaling, how to really embrace it, how to enjoy it, 0:22:55.200 --> 0:22:58.440 I always give the same answer, and you guys know me, 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:03.080 it's never a simple answer, but one that contains four parts. 0:23:03.119 --> 0:23:05.760 So let's break down these four tips I have from 0:23:06.200 --> 0:23:11.119 not only actually feeling excited to write and excited to journal, 0:23:11.560 --> 0:23:14.280 but getting something out of it, getting what you want 0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:17.399 out of it. So my first tip is to, in 0:23:17.440 --> 0:23:21.200 the beginning, only journal when you really feel the need. 0:23:22.000 --> 0:23:24.200 Some people will say the easiest way to get into 0:23:24.359 --> 0:23:27.639 into journaling, or into anything it is through routine and 0:23:27.760 --> 0:23:31.320 discipline and doing it every day and staying consistent. You know, 0:23:31.400 --> 0:23:35.000 if you googled how to start journaling, that is probably 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:37.440 going to be one of the first tips that comes up. 0:23:37.680 --> 0:23:42.639 But making it a mission to journal every day just 0:23:42.720 --> 0:23:45.480 takes the fun out of it and it's just another 0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:48.159 thing on your to do list. None of us want 0:23:48.200 --> 0:23:51.040 another thing on our to do list, especially when I 0:23:51.080 --> 0:23:54.399 think that journaling should be something that you feel relieved, 0:23:55.119 --> 0:23:59.240 if not joyous, to be doing. So to start off, really, 0:23:59.320 --> 0:24:01.960 journal when you feel like you have something to write about, 0:24:02.520 --> 0:24:05.560 and journal as smaller as big as you would like. 0:24:05.640 --> 0:24:08.160 It could be a single line, it could be something 0:24:08.200 --> 0:24:11.320 you've thought about or overheard. That is where you need 0:24:11.359 --> 0:24:14.879 to begin. Then go from there. When you get the 0:24:14.920 --> 0:24:17.200 hang of it, and when you find out what's important 0:24:17.200 --> 0:24:20.520 to you to journal about, that's when you really, I think, 0:24:20.560 --> 0:24:24.760 start to pick up momentum. So here's my evidence for this, 0:24:24.840 --> 0:24:28.520 here's my reasoning. The researcher who we spoke about before, 0:24:28.560 --> 0:24:34.040 who conducted that first groundbreaking study in the eighties on journaling, 0:24:34.280 --> 0:24:37.320 he basically said, as much as what I just said, 0:24:37.600 --> 0:24:40.200 you don't need to journal every day. So his name 0:24:40.480 --> 0:24:44.280 is doctor pen Baker, and he's basically the pioneer of 0:24:44.320 --> 0:24:47.480 writing therapy as it was called, and he talks a 0:24:47.520 --> 0:24:52.040 lot about recovering from trauma through creative expression. And he said, 0:24:52.080 --> 0:24:54.560 and I quote literally what I just said, I am 0:24:54.600 --> 0:24:57.000 not a big fan of journaling every day. The founder 0:24:57.080 --> 0:25:00.480 of Writing Therapy, said that, and the reason said that 0:25:00.640 --> 0:25:03.720 is because I will try and like reframe how he 0:25:03.760 --> 0:25:07.080 said it. But one of the interesting things about journaling 0:25:07.680 --> 0:25:11.920 is actually sometimes writing too much, especially when you find 0:25:11.960 --> 0:25:15.760 yourself ruminating, and that's kind of one side of the going. 0:25:15.840 --> 0:25:18.240 So you write too much and you find yourself almost 0:25:18.240 --> 0:25:21.920 getting too overinvolved in the feelings associated with an event, 0:25:22.800 --> 0:25:25.359