No Rules Just Write: A New Approach to Journaling

by Melissa Nunes-Harwitt, LCSW

Anxiety, depression, and trauma can all contribute to repetitive thoughts and negative self-talk. You may experience the same worry over and over, stress about anything that doesn’t go as planned, or continuously come up with new “evidence” that suggests no one likes you. Persistently replaying the same concerns in your mind – also called ruminating – can lead to an emotional downward spiral and a sense of feeling stuck.

Writing in a journal can help you break this cycle.

If the very concept of journaling makes you feel guilty, you may believe there is a “right” way to journal. You’ll be surprised to hear journaling has no rules! You don’t need to commit to writing every day, and your entries don’t need to be of literary quality or form a clear narrative of your life. In fact, journaling doesn’t even need to involve words-it can take any format that feels right to you.

Journaling is the act of getting thoughts out of your head and giving them a new home on paper. The benefits are about the process, not the product. Whenever you write down thoughts or feelings, you’re journaling.

Journaling habits can be inconsistent. One day you may jot down a short sentence, another time, is a list of worries or an angry rant. You can draw, doodle, or even scribble in your journal. Let whatever is filling your mind and body flow freely onto the page. There are no rules about how often to journal whether it’s once a month or twice a day. What you write doesn’t need to be factual, focus on expressing your own experience and perspective to relieve emotional pressure and create a private space for yourself.

Journaling in this free-form way offers a variety of benefits:
 

• Distress tolerance - When you are upset or dysregulated, you may feel the urge to yell or vent to someone, creating interpersonal problems. Instead, writing about how you’re feeling -a practice known as “affect labeling”- reduces the intensity of emotions in a safe and private space. Alternatively, journaling can serve as a healthy distraction by allowing you to write or draw about something unrelated to the upsetting situation.
• Emotion regulation and emotional literacy - Expressing your feelings and bodily sensations into words increases self-awareness and creates space for reflection, both can help with future self-regulating.
• Interpersonal effectiveness - Journaling gives you the freedom to experiment with different forms of communication. In the privacy of your journal, you can vent your frustrations towards someone who upsets you and then practice a more polite way to express your thoughts. Allowing yourself to process your initial interpretation without interruption, can help you see the situation from a new perspective.
• Mindfulness - Noticing how you feel in the moment is a form of mindfulness. This can be observing the appearance of the letters as you write, the smell of the paper, or the sensation of the pen in your hand. Being mindful shifts your mind away from “what ifs” and worst-case scenario thoughts that often accompany anxiety and depression.
• Self-validation and compassion - Writing in a journal is an embodied way of accepting your own feelings, preferences, and needs. Though you may be in the habit of putting yourself down, journaling shows that your inner self matters – even when your writing is self-deprecating. Those worried and low feelings, upsetting memories, and negative self-talk are all part of you; writing them down is a form of acceptance. Journaling gives you the opportunity to honor and validate every part of yourself.

If rumination is affecting your concentration or mood, therapists at Behavioral Health Partners can help. Behavioral Health Partners is brought to you by Well-U, offering eligible individuals mental health services for stress, anxiety, and depression. To schedule an intake appointment, give us a call at (585) 276-6900.

*Note: this article describes “writing” on “pages,” but typing/dictating on a device or computer also works.

References:
Baines, K. (2022). “It's normal to admit you're not okay”: New York City college students shaping mental health through journaling. SSM - Mental Health, 2. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100119

Dimitroff L, Silwoski L, O'Brien S, and Nichols, LW. (2017) Change your life through journaling: the benefits of journaling for registered nurses. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 7(2): 90–98. doi: 10.5430/jnep.v7n2p90

Torre, JB, and Lieberman, MD. (2018). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling as implicit emotion regulation. Emotion Review, 10(2), 116-124. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073917742706

Watson, LR, Ratini, MM, and Ballas, P. (n.d.) Journaling for emotional wellness. URMC Health Encyclopedia, University of Rochester Medical Center. Retrieved January 6, 2025 from https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=4552
 

Jim Riggs | 4/1/2025