Mental Health Awareness Week: how journaling and self-reflection can help us through times of difficulty

Monday May 9 marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, which aims to open up the conversation and reduce the stigma that can stop people from speaking about their feelings. The past two years have made this conversation even more important, as they have been especially hard in light of prolonged periods of isolation and loss that we have endured.

Mental health problems can be experienced differently by everyone, but there are some methods that have been shown to help us address and manage our feelings, and also help us to feel more positive about the future. Over the past two years, many of us had the time to take up new hobbies and pursue existing interests, but journaling was one activity in particular that the nation has maintained interest in – largely due to the wellbeing benefits that it can offer.

How can journaling help when it comes to our mental health? Rutger Bruining, the CEO of StoryTerrace, sheds light on the benefits writing and journaling can offer us all:

1. Nostalgia increases our happiness

Looking back at past memories and life moments has become commonplace over the course of the past two years, offering us a form of escapism from everything going on in the world. And while reflecting on the past can be an intellectual activity, nostalgia is also an emotional one. Memory is about recalling the facts of a past event; nostalgia is about recalling how it felt to be there. A 2013 study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found that engaging in nostalgia led people to feel more optimistic about the future. Nostalgia is also related to higher self-esteem, happiness, and feelings of closeness to loved ones – engaging in past memories evokes these feelings for us, boosting our overall mood.

2. The impact of journaling on our mental health

The act of writing in a journal to record your innermost thoughts yields a whole host of benefits when it comes to our mental health. It can better our mood, increase our sense of wellbeing, and even lead to better working memory. In some cases, journaling is “prescribed” as a way to reduce PTSD symptoms or to help people suffering from depression and anxiety. However, you don’t have to be suffering to benefit from journaling – any time spent writing your thoughts helps your brain to get better at regulating your emotions. And a biography is like a journal on steroids!

3. Self-reflection is key to personal growth

If there’s one overarching condition of modern life – and one we can all relate to – it’s busyness. We move from email to email or meeting to meeting with little time to pause and think about our lives and their meaning — a situation that’s only been made worse by the distractions of smartphones. Yet Harvard researchers have found that making time for self-reflection is a crucial component of learning. Writing a biography is the ultimate exercise of self-reflection, as you aren’t just thinking about a day’s work, but your life as a whole.

Personal biography-writing service StoryTerrace worked with hundreds of people during the last two years, helping them to write their life stories with the help of a professional ghostwriter. One inspirational woman who had her biography penned is Midori Williams. Williams decided to document her life story after working in multiple COVID-19 wards in the height of the pandemic and shares how journaling was a valuable tool that helped her cope throughout one of the hardest periods of her life:

“Writing the book in journal form was therapeutic. It gave me an outlet. It allowed me to reflect and to extend myself grace. The journal slowly evolved into the concept of a book, something I have wanted to explore but was too intimidated to try. One day I realised this needs to be written so others, including my family, can read about this moment in our lives. My voice and my patients’ voices will not be forgotten.”

Rutger Bruining, CEO of biography-writing service StoryTerrace, discusses the secret behind journaling and the reasons why it has become a popular pastime:

“While awareness weeks are a great way of starting the conversation, it is important that awareness around mental health is maintained beyond this; one study shows that 1-in-4 people will have trouble with their mental health every year. One of the key benefits of writing a biography is self-reflection. Looking back on our lives is often an emotional process – we address not just our best moments, but also periods of difficulty that we have encountered. Acknowledging moments of adversity that we’ve overcome is really important, and this can be really beneficial to our lives when thinking about the future as we can realise how far we have come.

“Journaling became a popular lockdown pastime, but rather than a short-term way of passing time, many people who have taken an interest in journaling as a pastime have actually maintained it. This will come as no surprise when you try it for yourself as you feel the personal benefits which derive from it – especially when it comes to our mental wellbeing.

“During the past 2 years, I saw a lot of people turn their initial interest in journaling into biography writing – and it was so pleasing to see. Though it comes as no surprise when you look at all the benefits which come from writing a biography, it was great to see hundreds of people begin the process of writing their own life stories with StoryTerrace. We had the pleasure of hearing such a vast variety of inspiring stories and experiences, alongside how they came about the decision to write their own story.”