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Some psychotherapists now recommendjournaling, also called expressive writing, to help people cope with the symptoms ofpost-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD).If you have PTSD, here’s how journaling can help, as well as how to do it.

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Overview

Journaling is one method of helping people cope with any type of traumatic event. Expressive writing has been found to improve physical and psychological health for people with a number of physical andmental health conditions. One of the benefits of journaling is that it’s inexpensive—the cost of paper and a pen—and can be done almost anywhere or anytime.

Some of thegeneral health benefits of journalinginclude improved cognitive function, counteracting many of the negative effects of stress, and strengthened immune function.

Benefits for People With PTSD

In recent years, research has shown that journaling may help people with PTSD in several different ways. Psychologically, expressive writing appears to help people better cope with thesymptoms of PTSD, such as anxiety and anger. Physically, journaling can make a difference as well, reducing body tension and restoring focus.

In addition, we are learning thattraumatic eventsmay lead not just to post-traumatic stress, but to post-traumatic growth. In other words, there can be silver linings and experiencing trauma may help you change in positive ways as well. Expressive writing has been found not only to improve the symptoms of PTSD and coping with them, but it also appears to help foster post-traumatic growth, or the ability to find meaning in and have positive life changes following a traumatic event.

Journal Writing to Ease Anxiety

Before You Begin

Before journaling, find a notebook and a favorite pen. Some people prefer to have more than one notebook, reserving one to use as agratitude journal, and the other to include all other thoughts and feelings. You may want to think about where you will keep your journal between writings. Some people prefer to keep it in a private location, whereas others don’t feel this need. What’s most important is that your words are only accessible to those who you wish to read them.

Steps for Journaling

Using Emotion-Focused Coping Strategies

Journaling Tips

Here are some other tips to keep in mind while you’re writing:

Journaling Prompts

Here are a few prompts to get you started or to continue when you feel stuck:

Cultivate Gratitude to Reduce Stress

Looking for the Positive

Knowing that people with PTSD experience not just stress but post-traumatic growth may bring a small ray of light to a difficult situation. Some people have found that taking the time to write about these positive changes, in essence,writing about gratitude, is helpful as they heal.

If you’re looking for evidence of post-traumatic growth in your life, think of anything you might call a “silver lining” of your experience. Some people speak of the “gifts of PTSD” or the “benefits of PTSD” when speaking of these changes. Certainly, you may need to make a stretch in doing this, especially if you have only recently developed PTSD and the traumatic event that stimulated your distress is fairly recent.

In time, and in addition to working through the difficulties in your life related to your diagnosis, you may begin to have moments when you catch yourself writing “what PTSD has taught me.” Expressing your thoughts in writing in this way may not only help you work through the awfulness of the trauma, but it can make you more aware of your healing along the way.

9 Ways to Relieve PTSD Anxiety

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Sloan DM, Marx BP, Bovin MJ, Feinstein BA, Gallagher MW. Written exposure as an intervention for PTSD: a randomized clinical trial with motor vehicle accident survivors. Behav Res Ther. 2012;50(10):627-35. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2012.07.001Niles AN, Haltom KE, Mulvenna CM, Lieberman MD, Stanton AL.Randomized controlled trial of expressive writing for psychological and physical health: the moderating role of emotional expressivity. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2014;27(1):1-17.Meshberg-cohen S, Svikis D, Mcmahon TJ. Expressive writing as a therapeutic process for drug-dependent women. Subst Abus. 2014;35(1):80-8. doi:10.1080/08897077.2013.805181Wu X, Kaminga AC, Dai W, et al. The prevalence of moderate-to-high posttraumatic growth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2019;243:408-415. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.09.023Mugerwa S, Holden JD. Writing therapy: a new tool for general practice?. Br J Gen Pract. 2012;62(605):661-3. doi:10.3399/bjgp12X659457Cunha LF, Pellanda LC, Reppold CT. Positive Psychology and Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Front Psychol. 2019;10:584. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00584

Sloan DM, Marx BP, Bovin MJ, Feinstein BA, Gallagher MW. Written exposure as an intervention for PTSD: a randomized clinical trial with motor vehicle accident survivors. Behav Res Ther. 2012;50(10):627-35. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2012.07.001

Niles AN, Haltom KE, Mulvenna CM, Lieberman MD, Stanton AL.Randomized controlled trial of expressive writing for psychological and physical health: the moderating role of emotional expressivity. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2014;27(1):1-17.

Meshberg-cohen S, Svikis D, Mcmahon TJ. Expressive writing as a therapeutic process for drug-dependent women. Subst Abus. 2014;35(1):80-8. doi:10.1080/08897077.2013.805181

Wu X, Kaminga AC, Dai W, et al. The prevalence of moderate-to-high posttraumatic growth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2019;243:408-415. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.09.023

Mugerwa S, Holden JD. Writing therapy: a new tool for general practice?. Br J Gen Pract. 2012;62(605):661-3. doi:10.3399/bjgp12X659457

Cunha LF, Pellanda LC, Reppold CT. Positive Psychology and Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Front Psychol. 2019;10:584. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00584

Krupnick J, Green B, Amdur R, et al. An Internet-Based Writing Intervention for PTSD in Veterans: A Feasibility and Pilot Effectiveness Trial.Psychological Trauma. July 2017;9(4):461-470. doi:10.1037/tra0000176.

Roberts N, Roberts P, Jones N, Bisson J.Psychological Therapies for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Comorbid Substance Use Disorder.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. April 2016;4:CD010204. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD010204.pub2.

Sayer N, Noorbaloochi S, Frazier P, et al.Randomized Controlled Trial of Online Expressive Writing to Address Readjustment Difficulties Among U.S. Afghanistan and Iraq War Veterans.Journal of Trauma and Stress. October 2015;28(5):381-90. doi:10.1002/jts.22047.

Sloan D, Sawyer A, Lowmaster S, Wernick J, Marx B.Efficacy of Narrative Writing as an Intervention for PTSD: Does the Evidence Support Its Use?Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy. December 2015;45(4):215-225.

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