People dabble with journaling for various reasons. Some do it because their therapists recommended it. Others find that it’s a great way to help them manage their thoughts and emotions. According to published author, Registered Social Worker and a Certified Professional Life Coach, and Director of the International Association for Journal Writing (IAJW), Lynda Monk, everyone can benefit from journaling, but among those who will best enjoy its many benefits are those who fall under the category of caregiver.

She says, “As a parent to two teen boys and as a helping professional for over thirty years, I have learned firsthand the importance of having regular self-care practices. Self-care is critical to helping us manage stress and replenish as caregivers, both personally and professionally. As caregivers and helpers, our days are full and focused on the needs of others. Self-care ensures that we are tending to our own needs as well, which is essential for preventing burnout.”

Caregiving is an act that is both rewarding and challenging.  It takes a lot of energy, focus, compassion and care to support and serve the needs of others, thus, caregivers are very much susceptible to burnout.

“Journaling is a powerful self-care practice because it can offer you an intentional pause where you purposefully take time for yourself to write, reflect and renew.  Journal writing is a way of coming home to yourself.  You are free to express your thoughts, feelings, stressors, joys and gratitude in the pages of your journal. Journaling is an empowering practice that can help us build self-compassion and increase our ability to be kind and gentle with ourselves as caregivers,” she adds.

Lynda says she uses her journal writing practice for lots of things including as a tool for cultivating gratitude, positivity, optimism and hope, all of which are proven ways to increase resilience.  She believes that caregivers like her always need resilience and inner strength especially these days. Various fields of study, including psychology, education, and healthcare offer a lot of research that prove the efficacy of journaling and expressive writing for healing and well-being.

“Consistent self-reflection is important in maintaining the necessary emotional boundaries that are helpful and essential to have as caregivers.  Self-reflection through journaling also facilitates personal growth and self-discovery.  It can also help you generate greater feelings of clarity, purpose, inner peace and calm. And my personal advice to anyone who wants to start journaling is to just do it; simply get a pen, a notebook and schedule 5-10 minutes a day (or as often as possible) to go to the page to observe, know, grow and care for yourself through journaling.”

Regular journal writing can enhance caregiver well-being and resilience. There are many creative ways that you can use journaling to replenish and energize as a caregiver, including:

• Take time to journal and unwind after a busy day.  Breathe, write, reflect and renew.  Journal prompts:  One of the most stressful things about today was… And, one of the best things about today was…
• Express your feelings as a caregiver including what feels rewarding, or hard, or stressful, or enriching about your caregiving role.   Journal prompt:  Right now, I feel…
• Write about how caregiving impacts how you are feeling, how you think, how you are living your daily life. Journal prompt:  As a caregiver, I notice that…
• Nourish your mind, body, heart and spirit with words, ideas, poems, images, quotations, and affirmations – the journal can be a playground for all of these things. Try this: Find a quote or poem that you like and write it in your journal.  Then journal reflecting on the meaning of that quote or poem in your own life at this time.
• Write about your own needs.  Journal prompts:  What do you need right now as a caregiver? How can you meet that need?
• Set intentions for your own health, well-being and goals.  Try this: Start your day by journaling your intention – Today, I want to feel… and the things I will do to feel this way are….
• Honor gratitude – list 3-5 things you are grateful for each day.  What we focus on grows.  Gratitude energizes us as caregivers! Journal prompt:  Today, I am grateful for…(write as many things as you can possibly think of and remember there is nothing too small to be grateful for!)

To learn more about Lynda or just journaling in general, or if you want to join a global community of journal writers, you may visit https://iajw.org.