Benefits of Keeping a Diary

Writing a diary is something that many of us did when we were younger, but in many cases have since given up on. However if you are among those who have quit on noting down their thoughts then you may have made a mistake and you might want to consider once again picking up a pen (or keyboard) and starting to write again. Here we will look at some of the benefits of keeping a diary and just why it’s so good for your mental well-being.

It Cathartic

Just ask Freud – bottling up emotions and feelings is bad for you, and one of the best ways to treat numerous psychological conditions is to just let them out so that you can deal with them and move on. Techniques recommended by psychologists often include things like the ’empty chair’ technique where you imagine a chair has someone on it and then tell them your problems/how you feel about them.

Using a diary or a journal you will be able to do this yourself on a regular basis and thus ensure that you aren’t bottling things up which might ultimately come out in damaging ways. This allows you to start each day feeling refreshed and energetic with no psychic garbage left over from the day before.

It Increases Self Awareness

And when you start writing down these thoughts and feelings you may find that it helps you to learn things that you didn’t know about yourself. Maybe you didn’t realize what it was specifically that was upsetting you for instance – but by starting to write you were able to illuminate the things that were really playing on your mind. It’s good for us to know ourselves and to know what it is that makes us tick, and so keeping a diary is very good for your psychological well-being.

It Helps Our Memory

If you are prone to forgetting things, then keeping a journal is a good way to avoid this. This way you can write down ideas and thoughts, or experiences and things that are important to you. Then, if you should find that you’ve forgotten something important you may be able to use this as a way to track down that information that you kept a record of. Meanwhile it can also be nice as a way to relive your feelings and experiences when you’re older, and keeping a record of the things you did when you were younger is a fantastic way to take occasional trips down memory lane – as well as to remember what was important to you back then.

Patterns Can Emerge

When writing or reading your diary you can start to notice patterns emerging – perhaps for instance you have had a lot of bad days and you can start to notice the things that lead to those days being bad. Or maybe alternatively you can spot the factors that general result in your being in a good mood. This is a good way to take a step back and to look at your lifestyle and habits in an objective manner.

It Helps You to Focus on Achieving Your Goals

If you have some kind of target, or a number of aims and goals, then using a diary or journal is a great way to be able to keep track of your progress and to note how well it is going. For instance you can use a diary in order to note down what you’ve eaten each day, how much exercise you have done etc.

Improve Your Writing and Your Brain

If you are at all interested in writing and are interested in improving your communication skills at all, then of course writing on a regular basis is a great way to accomplish that. At the same time though, regularly writing is also generally good for your brain development and is just one more way to ensure that you keep your mind active.