This is the time of year for New Year’s resolutions, and a good one is keeping a reflective journal. This can be any old copybook, but if funds allow, a special notebook is worth it, as it makes it more special, as well as designating the time you have spent writing as an important part of your life.
I am suggesting keeping a reflective journal for 2026 because studies link reflective journalling to improved mood, better immune function, reduced blood pressure, and greater emotional resilience. One interesting study from 20 years ago asked college students to write for fifteen minutes on four consecutive days. The control group could only write about superficial topics such as their clothes, rooms, and so on, whereas the other group was asked to write about the most traumatic or upsetting experiences in their lives. The latter group reaped the benefits in both self-reported physical health, as well as objective assessments four months later. The authors of this study concluded that “Writing about earlier traumatic experiences was associated with both short-term increases in physiological arousal and long-term decreases in health problems.”
A reflective journal is different from a diary, which is simply an account of the day’s happenings, whereas a reflective journal is a form of embodied knowledge. That is, this form of writing helps transform diffuse emotions, clarify them, and identify the source. Writing helps us to listen to our bodies, feel the issues and, by writing, clarify feelings.
Handwriting improves memory by stimulating many parts of the brain. This writing process can help reduce the strength of emotional reactions by relaxing the amygdala, making it simpler to manage stress or worry. The amygdala is one part of the brain (along with the limbic system) that automatically detects danger. It also plays a role in behaviour, emotional control, and learning. More significantly, it plays a role in emotions associated with memories. For this reason, journaling can be an effective strategy for emotional control since it allows people to address their thoughts. The previously mentioned study demonstrates that writing about one’s feelings significantly reduces anxiety symptoms. It does this by promoting acceptance of negative feelings and reducing their impact over time. This method reduces pondering too much, thus allowing stressors to be absorbed more efficiently.
Writing in a journal regularly can boost self-awareness, help lessen stress, clarify emotions, and pinpoint what sets them off. It is important, however, to focus on being honest in your writing. It is for you and nobody else, and the whole purpose of it is to support one’s own well-being.
I have already mentioned a diary, and if one is nervous or unsure about expressing one’s emotions on paper, this is a good starting-off point. What is important is that it becomes a daily habit. Many people also like a gratitude journal where they write about the many things and experiences they are grateful for each day. Adding even a sentence or two of gratitude at the end of factual entries each day is one way to develop a gratitude journal. The other way of journaling is to just write what comes into your head and not think about it. There is no editing. Generally, this form of writing requires a prompt to start with, and this prompt may be as simple as watching a child coping with a new experience or observing people chatting over a cup of coffee. By using a prompt, one can set off a whole world of unconscious memories in a journal, and these experiences in turn may help clarify one’s approach to different situations.
