Does Journaling Actually Work? (Journaling 101)
Summary
TLDRThis video script explores the benefits of journaling, a practice that may initially seem counterintuitive but is backed by evidence showing its positive impact on mental health and physical well-being. The speaker discusses how journaling can help process emotions, build narratives, and increase tolerance to discomfort, leading to personal growth and improved outcomes in various aspects of life. The script also addresses common concerns about journaling and offers practical advice on how to get started and what to journal about for maximum benefits.
Takeaways
- 📝 Journaling can have unexpectedly positive effects on various aspects of life, including grades, immune system responses, blood pressure, and blood glucose control.
- 🧠 The act of journaling may help to reduce avoidance of problems and negative emotions by confronting them in a controlled manner, similar to trauma exposure therapy.
- 💡 Journaling teaches individuals to tolerate discomfort and can lead to a decrease in the stress experienced when recalling negative emotions.
- 📈 It helps in building a narrative and making sense of life events, potentially leading to post-traumatic growth rather than post-traumatic stress disorder.
- 🔄 Journaling can change one's perspective by altering pronoun usage over time, reflecting a shift from self-blame or external blame to a more balanced view.
- 🤔 The process of journaling is akin to 'replay analysis' in gaming, where reflecting on past experiences can provide insights and lessons for improvement.
- ✍️ Physically writing in a journal, as opposed to typing, can slow down thoughts, aid in memory retention, and provide a more reflective experience.
- 📚 Reading one's own journal entries from time to time can reinforce the insights gained and solidify the learning from the journaling process.
- 🔑 There is no one-size-fits-all approach to journaling; it can be done in various frequencies and durations that suit the individual.
- 🌟 Expressing gratitude through journaling is a practice that has been shown to have additional positive psychological benefits.
- 🛤 The journey of journaling is not always linear; it can take unexpected turns, leading to different insights and realizations than initially intended.
Q & A
What is the initial perception of journaling presented in the script?
-The script starts by expressing a common skepticism towards journaling, suggesting that it sounds like a terrible idea where one is expected to write down their deepest thoughts on paper with the expectation that it will somehow improve their problems.
What evidence is presented to support the benefits of journaling?
-The script cites various studies that show journaling can have positive effects on grades, immune system responses, blood pressure, and blood glucose control, suggesting that it 'magically makes things better' despite the lack of a clear understanding of how it works.
How does journaling help in tolerating discomfort?
-Journaling is likened to a form of trauma exposure therapy where individuals are exposed to their negative emotions in small doses, which over time, teaches them to tolerate discomfort and reduces the stress experienced when recalling these emotions.
What is the role of narrative in journaling and personal growth?
-The script suggests that journaling helps construct a narrative about one's life, which is crucial for post-traumatic growth. People who can build a coherent story about their experiences are more likely to grow from negative situations rather than develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
How does journaling affect pronoun usage and self-perception?
-Research indicates that journaling can change pronoun usage over time, reflecting a shift in perspective. For example, narcissists may start using more 'I' statements, recognizing their own faults, while those with low self-esteem may begin to use 'they' statements, holding others accountable.
What is the comparison made between journaling and replay analysis in gaming?
-The script compares journaling to watching replays in gaming, suggesting that just as replay analysis can help identify areas for improvement in gaming, journaling can provide insights into personal behavior and life situations.
What are some of the psychological benefits of expressing gratitude through journaling?
-While the script does not detail specific benefits, it implies that expressing gratitude in journaling is a positive practice supported by research showing various benefits, likely including improved mental well-being and reduced stress.
How does the frequency and duration of journaling sessions impact its effectiveness?
-The script indicates that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to journaling. It can be effective in various forms, from 15 minutes a day for seven days to 30 minutes once a week, suggesting that consistency and personal preference play a role in determining the best journaling routine.
What are the advantages of physically writing in a journal over digital methods?
-Physical writing slows down thought processes, allowing for deeper reflection, and commits experiences and insights more effectively to memory. It also provides a tangible record of one's thoughts and experiences.
Why might someone be hesitant to start journaling, according to the script?
-People might be hesitant to journal due to concerns about the vulnerability of putting personal thoughts on paper, the belief that it won't solve problems, and the fear that someone else might read their private thoughts.
What is the final recommendation for someone considering starting a journaling practice?
-The script encourages giving journaling a try, emphasizing that understanding the process and benefits, along with finding a personal approach that works, can lead to surprising ease and significant personal benefits.
Outlines
📝 The Power of Journaling
This paragraph discusses the skepticism and eventual acceptance of journaling's benefits. Initially, the author expresses doubt about journaling's effectiveness, questioning how writing down problems could improve them. However, they go on to present evidence from psychological and physiological studies that suggest journaling can indeed have positive effects on grades, immune system responses, blood pressure, and blood glucose control. The author introduces the concept of HD coaching, which integrates understanding of motivation and lasting behavioral change, and invites viewers to explore this further through a provided link.
🧠 Emotional Processing and Narrative Building
The second paragraph delves into the mechanisms behind journaling, highlighting how it can help with emotional processing and avoidance of problems. It compares journaling to trauma exposure therapy, suggesting that by confronting negative emotions in small doses, individuals can learn to tolerate discomfort. The paragraph also touches on the idea of building a narrative through journaling, which can lead to post-traumatic growth rather than PTSD. It discusses the importance of pronoun usage in journaling as an indicator of changing perspectives and personal growth.
🤔 Journaling for Perspective and Learning
This paragraph explores the role of journaling in changing perspectives and learning from experiences. It uses the analogy of replay analysis in video games to illustrate how reflecting on past events can lead to insights and improvements. The author emphasizes that journaling is not about finding immediate solutions but rather about understanding and processing experiences to build a more cohesive narrative of one's life, which can help in personal development and growth.
✍️ The Practice of Journaling
The final paragraph provides practical advice on how to approach journaling. It discusses the delayed effects of journaling, suggesting that the benefits may not be immediately apparent but can be profound over time. The author advises on the frequency and duration of journaling sessions, recommending consistency but without a strict formula. The paragraph also emphasizes the importance of writing about emotional experiences and occasionally revisiting past entries. It concludes with a recommendation to physically write in a journal to slow down thought processes and commit insights to memory.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Journaling
💡Evoking Emotions
💡Tolerance of Discomfort
💡Narrative
💡Pronoun Usage
💡Avoidance
💡Post-Traumatic Growth
💡PTSD
💡Replay Analysis
💡Physical Writing
💡Delayed Effects
Highlights
Journaling is suggested to have a positive impact on mental health and well-being, despite initial skepticism.
Studies show that journaling can improve students' grades, which is an unexpected benefit.
Journaling has been linked to physiological benefits such as improved immune system responses and better blood pressure and glucose control.
The video discusses the potential mechanisms behind journaling's benefits, including the idea of emotional exposure in small doses.
Journaling may help individuals tolerate discomfort by repeatedly exposing them to their negative emotions in a controlled manner.
The practice of journaling can lead to a decrease in the stress experienced when recalling negative emotions over time.
Journaling can potentially increase an individual's ability to tolerate negative emotions and reduce avoidance behavior.
Constructing a narrative through journaling can lead to post-traumatic growth rather than post-traumatic stress disorder.
Research indicates that journaling can change pronoun usage, reflecting a shift in perspective and narrative about one's life.
Journaling is compared to replay analysis in gaming, suggesting it can help identify areas for personal improvement.
The video suggests that journaling can have delayed effects, with benefits becoming apparent even months after the act.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to journaling; it should be adapted to the individual's preferences and needs.
Emotional experiences, both positive and negative, are recommended topics for journaling to express and process feelings.
The act of physically writing, as opposed to typing, can slow down thoughts and aid in memory retention.
Journaling can be a fluid process where the topic may evolve naturally over the course of writing.
The video addresses common concerns about journaling, such as the fear of others reading one's private thoughts.
The benefits of journaling are highlighted through various research findings and personal anecdotes.
The video concludes by emphasizing the ease and effectiveness of journaling once one understands its mechanisms and methods.
Transcripts
today we're going to talk a little bit
about journaling and if you're like me
journaling actually sounds like a
terrible idea I'm supposed to put down
my deepest darkest thoughts on a piece
of paper and then somehow that'll
magically improve the problem yeah
thanks but no thanks what difference
does it make if I just write down all of
the things that I can't fix is it like
journaling actually just magically makes
things better when we just write about
them and I know this sounds absolutely
insane but the answer is yes actually
yes that's exactly how it works we have
no idea how this actually happens but it
seems like there's actually really
strong evidence that journaling just
magically makes things better now you
may be confused by that what do you mean
it magically makes things better so
here's just an example of a couple of
really interesting studies so the first
is that a group of psychologists have
repeatedly measured students who journal
and they Journal about all kinds of
different things so sometimes they'll
talk about their emotions sometimes
they'll talk about what they're doing
that day but the one thing that's really
bizarre is journaling seems to increase
their grades another example of things
kind of magically getting better that we
don't understand comes from studies of
physiology so people will do studies on
the effects of journaling on things like
antibody responses the immune system
response to cancer treatment and
vaccines their studies about how
journaling improves like blood pressure
and even like improves some degree of
like blood glucose control and all kinds
of unrelated things hey there thanks for
watching and I'm glad these videos have
been helpful a lot of times I'll read
the comments and see people asking well
what do I actually do about it which is
a great question and unfortunately the
resources out there haven't been that
great which is precisely why I started
HD in the first place HG coaches are
trained on a curriculum that integrates
my understanding of what motivates us
what paralyzes us and most importantly
what leads to Lasting behavioral change
if you're ready to take the next step HG
coaches can help you build the life that
you want they've helped people build
careers help people find relationship
steps build networks of friends and even
do things like discover their passions
or pursue Hobbies so if this sounds like
something that you'd be interested in
check out the link in the description
below so what do we know about how it
works right so okay if you're thinking
listen to this and you're thinking okay
wait so like if I start journaling it's
going to improve my blood pressure make
me physically healthier and all also
increase my grades like that sounds
really bizarre like how on Earth can it
possibly do that and so let's try to
dive in and understand a little bit
about the mechanisms of journaling so
the first thing that makes journaling
actually kind of hard is if you have a
problem in life you spend most of your
time avoiding that problem right so like
if I'm if I'm worried about what my
friends think of me I'm not going to
spend my time thinking about her I don't
want to spend my time thinking about it
because spending my time thinking about
it like having a thought Loop about it
seems to not help at all and instead
what our mind naturally wants to do is
distract ourselves from problems so your
mind may be kind of like this like you
may be thinking okay if I can fix
something I'm happy to think about it so
I'm happy to work on a problem when it
results in something productive but I
don't want to spend time thinking about
something unless it actually like moves
the needle forward in some way right so
completely natural so when you Journal
about something that is emotionally
challenging it tends to evoke those
emotions and this is exactly what we
spend most of our time avoiding right
this is why we will spend time on social
media or play video games or whatever
like because we want to avoid these
negative emotions but there's something
that's really interesting that happens
when you Journal so when you Journal you
start to evoke these emotions but you
evoke them in kind of like a diet sort
of way so it's not like regular Coke
it's like Diet Coke or Diet soda and and
if you think about the the emotional
burden that you feel when you Journal is
less than the actual experience so some
people have hypothesized that this is
almost like trauma exposure therapy
where you are exposing yourself to your
negative emotions in small small small
doses and what we tend to see over time
with people who Journal is like yeah the
experience of journaling is kind of
uncomfortable but what it actually does
is teaches you how to tolerate
discomfort and so if you're thinking
about if you Journal about let's say an
uncomfortable social situation an
awkward social situation like you're at
a restaurant and a waiter walks up to
you and says enjoy your meal and then
you say thanks you too and then you're
cringing about it for the next couple of
days and as you're trying to fall asleep
you just think about this really cringe
moment where you're terrified right
there's nothing you can really do about
it as you Journal that the cringe comes
up and the interesting thing is that as
you experience more and more of that
negative emotion while you're journaling
over time people have done studies on
this the amount of negative emotion that
you experience or really the amount of
stress that you experience when
recalling the emotion actually goes down
and so as your stress level goes down
you start to resist negative emotion and
then what happens is something actually
really cool is now that you no longer
need to fear negative emotion you can
actually have cringe moments and not
worry about them so it seems that
journaling actually increases our
ability tolerate negative emotion so the
more we Journal it seems like one of the
biggest advantages is that increase in
journaling decreases our avoidance of
negative things or things that make us
feel bad there are a couple of other
angles of journaling that people have
sort of hypothesized or explored so
another good example of this is building
a narrative so there's a lot of research
that shows that if human beings go
through a traumatic experience they
don't all develop PTSD so for example
there are human beings that will go
through a traumatic experience and like
half of them will enter into something
called post-traumatic growth and pro
post-traumatic growth is when something
kind of bad happens to you but you grow
as a person and you actually end up kind
of like better than you started off and
there are some people that I've talked
to that were super bizarre but like I
remember seeing you know working with
cancer patients when I was a medical
student and an intern and them saying
weird things like cancer survivors like
yeah cancer was the best thing that ever
happened to me and I'm sitting there
thinking like what do you mean how on
Earth can that possibly make sense
cancer sounds devastating and they'll
say this weird kind of stuff like oh
yeah like cancer made me realize like
how much like life is how amazing life
truly is it made me appreciate life so
much more it made me appreciate the
people around me and like all this kind
of like super positive stuff and I'm
kind of scratching my head but like okay
if that's what you say on the flip side
so sometimes if you have a traumatic
experience it's not what doesn't kill
you only makes you stronger the other
unfortunate truth is that what doesn't
kill you can you for the rest of
your life and this is the case of
something like PTSD where a trauma
lingers and continues to damage someone
then some researchers got kind of
curious and were trying to figure out
okay what's the difference between going
to post traumatic growth route and going
the post-traumatic stress disorder route
what determines whether someone is able
to like heal from trauma and become a
stronger person one of the major
variables is something called narrative
so people who are able to construct
some kind of narrative about their life
are the ones who will like grow from
negative experiences this is where doing
something like journaling can actually
help us construct a narrative it is a
very very cohesive exercise that can
help us make sense of the events around
us there's studies that show that people
who Journal will change their pronoun
usage now we're not talking about
transgender kind of stuff what I mean is
that if you normally think about a
situation so let's say that you're like
you have social anxiety and you sort of
think about a situation and as your mind
understands the situation you think oh
my God I look so stupid Oh my God these
people don't like me
um I I don't know how to behave properly
people must think I'm awkward people
must feel like I'm a third wheel people
must not like the way that I I think and
so if you think about those thoughts
what is the subject of those thoughts
I'm saying people people people people
people people think this about me people
think that about me people think this
about me people think that about me and
so one of the really interesting things
is that when people are stuck in a
negative cognitive pattern they tend to
be focused either too much on themselves
I'm I'm at fault this is all my fault
this is my problem I'm a waste of space
people I don't like hanging out with
people or whatever it's i i i i i or
it's people people people people and if
you look at someone like a narcissist
this is a really good example so a
narcissist when they construct a
narrative about their life other people
are always messing with them these
people don't like me they don't respect
me they don't love me despite everything
that I do they don't experience any
gratitude for me so someone who's
narcissistic is always thinking about
them them them them on the flip side if
someone has something like a mood
disorder and it isn't a depressive
episode the person who's always at fault
is themselves I'm a waste of space my
family is better off without me Etc et
cetera et cetera I don't like the way
that I look when I look in the mirror
I'm ugly I'm this I'm this I'm this I'm
this I'm this so the key thing though is
that narcissists always use they in them
or people and people who are depressed
will always always use III so there's
data that shows that when you start to
journal that becomes fluid so literally
people will analyze the pronouns that
are used in journaling and at the
beginning of journaling you'll say III
or you'll say they they they they they
but as you Journal more you start to mix
the two statements and so like this is
an example of let's say a narcissist two
journals will say these people don't
like me these people don't respect me
and then over time as they Journal
they'll start to say well sometimes I
don't behave respectfully towards them
sometimes maybe I'm the one who's
actually at fault I could have started
doing this better and for people who are
depressed you'll see the opposite I'm a
waste of space I'm not valuable other
people sometimes don't treat me with
respect and I sometimes can be valuable
but people don't give me what I deserve
so what will literally see is a
fluctuation in the pronoun usage and
what that sort of indicates is that
people are changing their narratives so
as a narcissist starts to journal they
start to realize and they start to use
more I statements and start to realize
oh maybe I am at fault this is really
cool because once you start to realize
okay wait wait a second maybe they're
not to blame maybe I'm to blame you may
need that or the flip side if you have
super low self-esteem is you're always
going to be blaming yourself and you'll
start to hold other people accountable
so it seems like journaling helps us
kind of change perspectives and build a
more cohesive narrative so I think part
of the reason that sometimes we get
stuck in life is because we don't
actually learn from our mistakes right
so if you play like a video game for
example you can be hard stuck at bronze
for like years and sometimes in real
life that's sort of true too a good
example of this would be something where
you feel like this kind of stuff keeps
happening and you find yourself in the
same situation over and over and over
again and one of the interesting things
things there is that if you look at
something like therapy or coaching these
are things things that help you
understand where the problem is and
journaling can sometimes help you do
that as well I think of journaling kind
of like replay analysis where if you
think about okay I can play five you
know rounds of a particular video game
but which one will actually teach me
more if I play five rounds of a video
game or if I play three rounds of a
video game and I spend two hours like
analyzing my replays and thinking about
what I could be doing better and it
turns out that that's true of journaling
as well because as we go through life we
never really sit down and like think
about in a kind of objective cohesive
way what we could be doing better our
mind May generate all kinds of thoughts
but it's different right so if you sit
down and actually like watch one of your
replays you're going to notice so much
more about what you could be doing
anyone who plays a game and loses a game
will immediately if you ask them some
kind of question hey why did you lose
this game they'll jump to some answer
right they'll give you an answer they'll
say oh I lost this game because of a b c
and d they think they know what the
answer is but if that same person
actually sits down and watches a replay
what they'll discover is ten thousand
things that their mind didn't
immediately jump to so hopefully by now
you're willing to kind of give
journaling a shot and so then the next
question becomes okay how do I journal
and this is super cool because a lot of
people have tried to figure out okay
like what's the right way to journal so
just to give you all a couple of
examples there are some studies that
look at journaling like 15 minutes a day
for seven days in a row there are some
studies that look at journaling like 30
minutes once a week for like seven weeks
there are all kinds of different like
dosages and frequencies and durations of
journaling so here's what we kind of
know about journaling the first is that
journaling can have delayed effects so
there are some studies that show that
even a single episode of journaling can
lead to some kind of or Improvement or
Revelation up to six months away so I
know it sounds kind of bizarre but this
is one of the reasons that it's hard to
journal because we don't really see the
benefit right away so it does appear
that journaling can have very delayed
benefits that are kind of unexpected the
next thing is that there isn't really a
magical formula so I'd say kind of do
what works for you you need some degree
of consistency so I'd say anywhere
between 15 minutes and one hour and as
frequently as every day if you feel like
it or up to once a week now what kind of
stuff should you Journal about now this
is what's super interesting so there's
some data that shows that it doesn't
matter what you Journal about you're
going to get some kind of benefit but
what I found to be consistently useful
for psychological things is first of all
that you write about some kind of
emotional experience that you've had and
what do we mean by emotional experience
we don't really just mean something that
that happened bad like if you had an
awesome week you can could talk about
like how awesome your week was and how
grateful you are to your friends because
expressing gratitude and journaling is a
whole different area of research that
shows all kinds of positive benefits the
second thing is that I would strongly
recommend that from time to time you
actually read your journal and for those
of y'all that are paranoid that someone
else is going to find my journal and
read it just think about this for a
second okay we have professional authors
who have dedicated their entire life to
writing something to entice someone to
read it these are things like
best-selling novels and if you were to
pick up a best-selling novel today what
do you think would happen you'd read a
little bit of it and you'd set it down
our attention span is now so short that
no one will have the attention span and
dedication to sit down and read through
some kind of amateur fan fiction
autobiography crap that is your life so
if you're like me you're terrified that
people are going to read your Journal
but they don't have the attention span
for it so you can write whatever you
want and it doesn't really matter right
for you okay so write about emotional
experiences if you can you want to read
it from time to time one thing that I
highly recommend is that you physically
write so a lot of people will like to
journal using something like you know a
word editing software or something like
that Microsoft Word Google Docs or
whatever and you can journal on a laptop
there's no like big deal with that or
desktop or whatever but what are there a
couple of things about physically
writing that I think are really
important the first is that physically
writing slows your thoughts down if you
slow your thoughts down you're you'll
kind of sit with them a little bit more
and you'll be able to process things a
little bit the other really interesting
thing about writing is that writing
commits things to memory if you have
some kind of insight like this may have
happened to you before where you kind of
have This brilliant idea as you're going
to bed at night and what happens the
next day do you remember what your
brilliant ideas the next day you wake up
that kind of disappears right you have
This brilliant idea oh my God this is
how I'm gonna make a billion dollars I
just had this great product idea I have
this great idea for a story I had all
these great ideas and they just
disappear into the wind another simple
example of this is you can read
something like study something for
school and you can understand it while
you're reading it and the next day where
does it go it disappears so one of the
cool things about journaling is that
chances are that when you Journal it'll
whatever you write about will sink into
your memory more I kind of think about
journaling like getting into a canoe and
kind of going down river where the part
that you control is like sure you're
paddling a little bit here or there but
it's primarily the river that's carrying
you Downstream right and the same thing
kind of happens when you Journal is that
sure you can pick a particular topic but
if you journal for 30 minutes I can
almost guarantee you that where you end
up will be very different from where you
started at the end of the day a lot of
people are really concerned about
journaling right so we've like heard
that journaling is good for you like you
can look at like oh this article about
like how to deal with burnout on
LinkedIn written by some guy with an MBA
says oh yeah journey is really good and
you can hear about psychiatrists like
myself or therapists or other people
like maybe your friends who are like
yeah like journaling has totally helped
me like journaling helps so much but if
you're kind of like me you don't really
know how to journal right because no one
ever teaches you how to journal you're
kind of confused like how is this
supposed to help me it doesn't actually
fix any of my problems all it does is
even if I write about the terrible stuff
first of all it makes me feel terrible
when I write it secondly like it doesn't
actually fix the problem and thirdly
like what if someone reads it this
sounds like a terrible idea you're
asking me to commit the most painful
thoughts that I have to a piece of paper
and then it's going to be vulnerable and
like anyone could read it that's not
like a terrible idea it sort of does
sound like a terrible idea and that's
why if you really understand how
journaling works if you really
understand some of the data behind the
evidence behind journaling and you start
to understand a little bit about how to
actually do it you will be amazed at
first of all how easy it is and second
of all how much it actually helps you
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