Thursday, April 6, 2017

Journaling E = Expressive Journaling

Expressive journaling is the brainchild of Dr. James Pennebaker, Chairman of Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin.

About twenty-five years ago, Dr. Pennebaker researched the connection between focused writing and corresponding health benefits. The key, he discovered, is to write about an emotional upheaval in life. Don’t just recount the facts, but delve into the personal emotions.

Dr. Pennebaker’s assignment is simple:

Over the next four days, write about your deepest emotions and thoughts about the emotional upheaval that has been influencing your life the most. In your writing, really let go and explore the event and how it has affected you. You might tie this experience to your childhood, your relationship with your parents, people you have loved or love now, or even your career. Write continuously for twenty minutes a day for four consecutive days.

While there is nothing magical about twenty minutes a day, there is value is pushing yourself beyond that first threshold. Continue to dig deep and explore those hidden feelings that have remained buried for quite some time. 

Of course, we want to be careful not to over do it. Continuing to rehash the same negative thoughts can lead to a never-ending downward spiral of depression.

One way to structure these writing sessions is to focus each day’s activity as a slightly different retelling of the event.

In the first session, just let the words fall as they may. Do not give any thought to organization or rationality. After all, our emotions are the antithesis of logic.

The next day you may wish to write about the situation in epistolary form. Begin by addressing the person who has hurt you in a letter.

A word of caution here. Rather than using “you statements” in the letter (you did this … or you did that), use powerful “I” statements (I felt this way as a result of the situation). It is a subtle difference, but effective. The purpose is to address your feelings, not lay blame.

The third day, you might try giving these emotions a bit of structure. Perhaps write about the event as a story. Create the setting - briefly introduce the characters - and then flesh out the conflict. Again, focus on your emotional response more than plot details.

By the time you reach the fourth day, you will notice the raw emotions have subsided. They may still be present, but they are now more tame. Write about the event one more time as the thoughts come to mind. 

You may find the initial despondency is now replaced with hope.

* * * 

Expressive journaling can be difficult, but the painful acknowledgement of these feelings are well-worth the benefits of emotional healing.

Up next in this journaling series: F is for Five Year Diary

14 comments:

  1. This sounds so comprehensive. Tough, but effective. Journaling of many sorts has benefits, but when you go in search of something yet covered, there's something not only in the discovery, but the path we take to get there.

    Love the idea of previewing your next letter in the challenge, too.

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    Eli@CoachDaddy

    <a href="https://coachdaddyblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/06/atozchallenge-e-is-for-eight-things-ive-left-behind/>#AtoZChallenge: E is for Eight Things I've Left Behind</a>

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really like how you stated this: "when you go in search of something yet covered, there's something not only in the discover, but the path we take to get there."

      Powerful!

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. I have often been told to do something like this but can never keep up with it for long. Though I have never been told to it the way you have stated. I may have to give this a try.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I encourage you to do so... and... please know that you do NOT have to write every day, week, or even month. I will talk about this a little more with the letter "L"

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Good series so far. Do you plan on talking about Ira Progoff and the Intensive Journal? I picked up his book At A Journal Workshop years ago...

    John Holton
    A to Z Challenge Co-Host

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    1. John... I am embarrassed to say I have not heard of Ira Progoff... however, I plan to visit the library today and research his Intensive Journal method. It sound fabulous!

      Thanks so much for sharing...

      Delete
  4. Wonderful idea, to write about an event several times. May go back to my journal today to re-visit old posts.

    Loving your A to Z so far.

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    Replies
    1. I'd love to hear what you discover in the review :)

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. As I began to read your post for today, I thought the exercise would be quite negative until you outlined a practical 4-day routine that led to subsiding emotions and pragmatic thought. I plan to exercise the steps with expectations of success.

    Food For Thought

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    1. Yes... I think the first day will be filled with negativity. But if we focus on the concept of getting past the trauma to the other side, hopefully that will help us temper our emotions with more pragmatic thought :)

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  6. As you said a difficult but worthwhile journal exercise.

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  7. That's interesting. I'm not a fan of journaling nor writing about emotions, but I can see how this approach would be quite effective.

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  8. I could have used this a couple of times in my life! I'd rather not go through any more emotional upheavals but if I do, I'll try to remember this approach. Thanks!
    Janet
    <a href="https://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2017/04/april-2017-atozchallenge-flying-to-f.html
    “>F is for Fleetwood Mac</a>

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting concept. Never tried this. Great theme.

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