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Journal Writing
Ben Eckstein
Kim ChristiansenDiana Martinez
Tiffany Le
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History
The word journalcomes from the Frenchword journee, meaning from sunrise to
sunset.
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Dr. Ira Progoff
1st psychologist to study the use of journalwriting.
Developed a seminar Intensive JournalWorkshop.
Found access to a higher consciousness,
which encouraged a search for meaning inhis life.
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Progoffs Experiment
Setting: NYCs welfare and unemploymentprograms.
Goal: study effects of journal writing onpersonal growth. Outcome: of the 300 people enrolled in the
study, 90% had improved their job status
and housing conditions. Rationale: journal writing contributed to an
enhanced state of self-reliance.
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Good for the Soul, Good for the
Body James Pennebaker at Southern MethodistUniversity, 1989, 1990.
Showed an increase in immune functionalong with journal writing. Heightened immune function of T-
lymphocytes was seen. (T-lymphocytes
are white blood cells involved in clearingpathogens from the body.)
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Study: Emotional and PhysicalHealth Benefits of Expressive
Writing 13 studies were done with healthy individuals,
with the results being an overall benefit to their
psychological and physical health. Smyths review suggests that for mentally andphysically healthy individuals, the effectsproduced by expressive writing are substantial
and similar to the effects of other psychologicalmethods that are usually more time consumingand costly.
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Study: Emotional and PhysicalHealth Benefits of Expressive
Writing
In the first study on expressive writing (Pennebaker &Beall, 1986), college students were told to wrote for 15
minutes on 4 consecutive days about the mosttraumatic or upsetting experiences of their entire lives,while the control group wrote about superficial topics(such as their room or their shoes).
The participants who wrote about their deepest thoughtsand feelings reported significant benefits from bothobjectively assessed, and self-reported physical healthfour months later.
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Overall Results From ExpressiveWriting
The overall benefits of expressive writingpotentially result from some combination
of immediate cognitive and/or emotionalchanges, longer-term cognitive and/oremotional changes, social processes and
biological effects, rather than beingaccounted for by any single factor(Pennebaker, 2004).
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Various Methods
Unsent Letter Dreams Method
Poetry Therapy Buzans Method
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Dreams Method
Before you go to bed, review the daysevents and how you felt about them.
As you fall asleep remind yourself toremember your dreams when youawaken.
When you wake up, wait a few minutes toreview your dreams.
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Dreams Method
Keep a notebook by your bed with a pen/pencil to recordyour dreams or dream fragments that you remember.
Return to your dream images and ponder what they
represent. Jung felt that every dream were a source ofinformation.
If you have recurring dreams, write the ending to thedream or scene. Doing so will help to at least reduce thestressor that causes this type of dream, as this may not
fully resolve the issue. Recurring dreams tend torepresent serious unsolved issues that need to beaddressed and taken care of.
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Poetry Therapy
This is a form of a complimentary journalwriting style. Here they write their own
poetry, which gives them a sense of controland a way to make order out of chaos.
This type of therapy is generally used as away to treat emotional disorders, and canhelp with awareness and emotional catharsis.
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Buzans Method
This method accesses both right and left brain cognitivefunctions. Here you draw a line to the left of center on apage, where you write thoughts or perceptions, whichwould be things like, I have to feed the cat before I leave
the house. In the middle of the other side of the page you draw a
small circle and write I feel inside it. From there youdraw lines out when you feel an emotion. On each line youdescribe how you feel in 3 words, and you do this for 15-20 minutes. Whatever comes to your mind, you write itdown as a thought or feeling.
This serves as an eraser to clean the blackboard of yourmind. the mind then can become uncluttered and achievea state of mental stability.
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Unsent Letter
Here, you write a letter to someone thatyou are upset with. You write down all
your feelings be it anger, sadness, etc. BUT you dont give it to them. The purpose of this is to help you relieve
emotion baggage.
Provides an opportunity for the tree Cs: Catharsis, Clarity, and Completion.
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Immediate Effects
Release of toxic thoughts from your mind(unsent letter, thankful list, happy list,
etc) Release of thoughts, feelings and
perceptions that liberates the mind and
softens or expands the walls of the ego.
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Immediate Effects
Old thoughts are permitted to leave,empty space they once occupied allows
for expansion of awareness and depth ofthought.
Increased understanding of ourselves inour many environments.
Personal confession Ownership of feelings
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Long Term Effects
Pattern identification Illumination of precursors to stress.
Impartial view of what was written, anobjective perspective.
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Only three essential elements areneeded for effective journal
writing: 1. A notebook dedicated solely to thejournal.
2. A pen or pencil
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Only three essential elements areneeded for effective journal
writing: 3. A quiet environment, so that you can
collect your thoughts and put them onto
paper.A good goal to start with is 15 to 20
minutes for each entry, at least 3 entries
per week so that you can see the benefitsof journal writing.
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Steps to Initiate Journal
Writing What
Try to identify those concerns and problems thatcause the most frustration, grief and tension.
Why
Ask yourself what emotions are elicited when thesestressors are encountered.
How Allow the writing process to augment your creative
process to further resolution.
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Best Application of Journal Writing
Good-quality journal writing has severalpurposes. The first is to act as a personal
sounding board- to cleanse the mindoverloaded with perceptions, emotionsand toxic thoughts. Journal writing is a
great way to vent anger. Pinpoint how andwhy different feelings are surfacing.
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Best Application of Journal Writing
Cleansing negative feelings is an effectiveway to find clearer thoughts and feelings
so you can map out strategies forresolution. These applications of journalwriting can be used as an offensive tactic
in the face of stress.
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Tips Hints and Suggestions
Centering Before you begin to write, take a moment to
relax. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths
and try to unwind. Label your journal entries. Identify each withthe day, date and year.
Uncensorship.
Dont censor yourself. Write whatever comes tomind without editing your thoughts before yourput them down onto paper.
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Tips Hints and Suggestions
Spontaneity. Let your thoughts be free-flowing. Getwhatever thoughts you have down on paperand then sort them out however you chose.
A private place. Journal writing can be done anywhere, but
having a designated place of solitude lendsdepth to self-disclosure.
A private journal.Your journal is for your eyes only.
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Cool Stuff
The 1000 Journals Project started inAugust 2000 San Francisco
100 journals were distributed in randomplaces in San Francisco and are still beingpassed around to friends and strangers.
www.1000journals.com www.1001journals.com