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Journaling
Friday, August 28, 2009
By Judy Westerfield, M.A., MFT
(Excerpt from Fibromyalgia AWARE magazine)
When I read my journal entries I haven’t a clue what I did on that day. But I do have an intimate picture of what I was experiencing emotionally and intellectually. When I reread my journal I am sharing intimately with the only person in the world who really knows what I’m experiencing: me. There is comfort and truth to that.
Now, I haven’t a clue how journaling works, or why writing without editing feelings and
| “When we free-write, we put into words what we have buried or don’t want to admit to ourselves.” | thoughts can actually make me feel better. No one really knows how journaling about illness or traumatic experience actually improves the efficiency of our immune systems—it just does. No one really knows how journaling creates greater emotional well-being and helps people feel better physically—it just does. My goal in this article is not to cite studies of journaling, or to convince you to try it. I simply want to tell you a bit about why I think it works and how you can get started. And for those of you who already know how powerful journal writing can be, I’ll give you a few ways to spice up the process.
Why Journaling Works
Journaling works in some of the same ways as talking to a therapist, being a member of a support group or sharing with family and friends.
- We name the unnamable.
We give a face to the invisible. And when we can label a condition and describe an experience, there is relief.
Last month I took a halter test. When the results came back I was jubilant! I emailed all my friends with the good news.
E-Mail Re: Judy’s Pathetic Parasympathetic
I got the BEST news!!!! There's something wrong with me!
I just got results of a 24 hr. halter test and my autonomic nervous system is suppressed! (As it apparently is in about 98% of fibromyalgia/ chronic fatigue patients they tested in a small study.)
My parasympathetic system doesn't activate at night! Isn't that the greatest news ever!!!! Finally, I KNOW why I'm EXHAUSTED and achy 24 hours a day.
I'm sooooooooooooooooooooo happy, finally a test that came back positive.
xxxxxxxxxxx Judy
Everyone was elated for me!
- We bring thoughts and feelings to our conscious awareness.
I start clients with “free-write.” You write non-stop, anything and everything, without censoring or editing what comes to mind. When we free-write, we put into words what we have buried or don’t want to admit to ourselves. We write whatever pours out, whether it makes sense or not. And then we read it back. We consciously hear what poured out of our unconscious. This awareness leads to choice—we can choose to ignore it, do something about it, talk to someone—and conscious choice is empowering.
- It can calm the stress response
One of the primary ways to deactivate the stress response is to go on automatic pilot. Journaling, without editing, analyzing, or criticizing, is doing exactly that—and as we all know, stress reduction is a top life management goal for fibromyalgia.
- We become objective observers.
By externalizing our thoughts and feelings—writing them on paper—we distance ourselves from our experiences and look at ourselves from a different perspective.
It’s the difference between looking at the ground under our feet while we are standing on it and looking at the ground from an airplane. Same fibromyalgia, different perspective.
- Journaling gives us a frame, creates a boundary.
Having a chronic condition like fibromyalgia feels unending. We think it will never get better and it’s hard to remember what life was like without it. Journaling gives our experience a frame. Our thoughts and feelings are contained within the boundaries of our page. And there is comfort in the ritual of closing the book when we are done.
- One-way interaction.
We often don’t acknowledge what we are thinking and feeling to others, so we won’t be a burden or, worse yet, a bore. I often don’t share because it takes too much energy to answer questions, listen to, and interact with a live person. Next to Max, my dog, sharing thoughts, feelings, and secrets with a journal is the best! My journal always listens, never talks back, never judges, is always available and won’t betray my confidence. Journaling is a private process and it’s under my control (one of the few things that is!).
Judy Westerfield has been in private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist in Laguna Niguel, Calif., since 1986. She specializes in helping other therapists with their clients, especially those with life-altering conditions. She was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1996. Along with colleagues Lynne Everette and Kathe Caldwell, Westerfield facilitates In the Face of Pain creative expression workshops for people with fibromyalgia and chronic pain. They also go to support group meetings and give free creative expression mini-workshops. To learn more about the workshops or for more journaling tips, go to http://www.creativitytothemax.com/.
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