Journal writing to heal the mind, body, and soul

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you," the poet Maya Angelou once said. Fourteen women, all breast cancer survivors, found themselves “unburdening" their very souls in a journal writing workshop up in the cool hills of Tagaytay one Saturday afternoon. The activity was part of a day-long event called “Breast Friends for Life" wellness retreat held at the Taal Vista Hotel, which also included an hour-long yoga and meditation session, make-overs, massage therapy, and an arts and crafts workshop.

The journey that is breast cancer can be a long and lonely one. As you go through the highs and lows of treatment, it is like being on a rollercoaster ride, except that often, you are on the ride by yourself. Journal writing is the perfect partner for the breast cancer survivor or her caregiver, so that they can connect more deeply with their inner selves. Author Stephanie Dowrick, who has written countless books on the inner life, says “It is virtually impossible to write a journal and not discover more about yourself." A little alone time with one’s journal can often reveal exactly what is needed. Marlene A. Schiwy, in her book “A Voice of Her Own," talks about the healing dimensions of journal writing: "To create wholeness in our lives is to heal ourselves. Healing comes from the same root as whole and holiness. For many women, the journal provides a gentle setting in which healing can take place. It offers one place where literally and symbolically, all of the pieces of one’s life finally come together." Keeping a journal is beneficial for everyone whether you are sick or not, but is even more helpful for those who have chronic conditions or on the healing path from a particular ailment such as breast cancer. There is much that one can learn from an illness, lessons that one may not ever learn if one had not been sick. Lucia Cappacione, in an article in The Wellbeing Journal, says the most important lessons she learned from her illness was that the healing process is often activated by a spiritual force that resides from within. “A journal can be a living textbook for the lessons that the illness has to teach." Good for body and soul Researchers like James W. Pennebaker, M.D., professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, and Joshua M. Smyth, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at North Dakota State University, are proving what journal writers have always known: keeping a journal is good not only for the soul, but for the body as well. The first studies, in the late l980s, examined healthy people and journal writing. Researchers found that people who write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about events that upset them have stronger immunity and visit their doctors half as often as those who write only about trivial events. More recently, exciting and innovative research appeared in the April l4th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Conducted by Joshua M. Smyth at the State University of New York at Stoneybrook, the study showed that writing about a stressful experience reduces physical symptoms in patients with chronic illnesses. Pennebaker, whose book “Opening Up" has been a bible of sorts for anyone interested in the healing power of writing, says that developing a deeper understanding of the event and the emotions it generates helps the brain digest the information. He believes that when you analyze a traumatic event, your brain turns it into a story that is stored more easily. "Storytelling simplifies a complex experience," he says. Here are a few simple tips on how one can begin keeping a journal of one’s journey, be it breast cancer or any other emotionally draining experience:

• Start with a meditation to begin your quiet time. Find a cozy corner in your home or garden where you can be alone with your thoughts. This is often best done in the early mornings or late evenings when the household is all quiet.
• Begin by scribbling down a quote that you had read which struck you, an anecdote that you found funny or sad, or simply by writing whatever comes to your mind at that very moment – your worries, anxieties, issues that you are dealing with, things or people you wish to give thanks for.
• Date your entries. This is very important because as you look back later on, you will see how different you may have felt about certain things as you went along that particular journey.
• Write quickly and don’t edit. Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, your penmanship, erasures… just write what comes to mind. The purest and first thoughts are often what give the deepest insights.
• Keep writing. Don’t censor yourself. Remember that you are entitled to all your feelings and whatever you write down is valid.
• Protect your privacy. Make sure to keep your journal in a safe place away from anyone’s prying eyes.
• Write naturally and trust your inner wisdom. There are no hard and fast rules to keeping a journal so just be yourself.
I often say a prayer before I do my journal exercises. You do not have to write in your journal on a daily basis. Write when the mood strikes you, but it is also a good habit to put something in your journal at least three to four times a week. Just as physical exercise keeps the body fit, journal writing also keeps the soul, heart, and mind in sync. And as for the breast cancer survivors in Tagaytay, they were more than eager to share what they had written down, and also to listen to what the other women had "unburdened" to their journal. In some ways, it was a magical experience, and most certainly a healing one. – YA, GMANews.TV