How Journaling Can Help With Recovery

Journaling Rejuvenates the Brain during Recovery

Recovering from any trauma, anxiety, depression or addiction can be a long, slow, and arduous process. One day you might feel better; the next day you feel everything crashing. While many young people keep a diary, few of us continue doing so as adults. Therapists have found that journaling can help the recovery process. Even a few minutes a day of writing in a diary or journal can enable progress in treating mental health challenges.

Organize and Slow Down Thoughts

A journal or diary slows the writer down and helps them think. Anxiety and stress build, and it can be hard to focus or figure out the cause. A diary organizes chaotic thoughts into words. From those words, a person can claim power over feelings, and have a record to share with their therapist or doctor.

Identify Patterns

A diary helps identify patterns and triggers. In a diary, feelings and events are recorded.  Reading through it later provides a picture that could be lost from a day to day, moment to moment perspective.

Create a Safe Space

A journal or diary holds special power for a person going through recovery. It can ground a person and allow for the writer to give him or herself positive feedback and develop positive attitudes.

Feel in Control

Many people have found that writing their problems in a diary gives them a sense of control over those challenges. The exercise of writing lets them see more clearly what changes can be made. Once that step is taken, we can prioritize our needs and the things we need to do to help ourselves feel better.

Contact Us

A diary or journal is a great tool. In conjunction with counselling, it can be a miraculous one.  Call York Regional Psychological Services at (416) 602-3230 to schedule a safe, confidential counselling session to explore your concerns and discover more tools to aid your recovery.