How can writing change the way you live your life? When you were in rehab, you likely participated in journaling as part of your treatment. How can journaling continue to help you after rehab and keep you on your path to long-term sobriety?
Journaling is a Reflective Tool
You are busy. Your life is full, and with your focus on recovery, you have to spend more time than ever thinking about what you are going to do next. For instance, if you are recovering from addiction and your friend is getting married, how will you stay away from alcohol at the party? Journaling allows you to reflect on your problems, questions, and the directions that your life is taking. According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, writing in a journal provides “an opportunity for positive self-talk and identifying negative thoughts and behaviors.”
Writing Helps Your Body
As you process emotions through your writing, this helps your mental health and also helps your physical wellbeing. According to Psychology Today, writing can strengthen your immune system, lower your blood pressure, and improve your lung and liver function. It can also reduce depression and improve your emotional health as you work through problems on paper.
Journaling can help you get to know yourself and create strategies for positive interactions.
Journaling Helps You Get to Know Yourself in Addiction Recovery
Who am I? As you thought about your life while you were in rehab, some big questions may have arisen. You may have discovered that your job was not fulfilling or that the challenges in your family life really needed to be addressed. Journaling is a record of your development as a person who is sober, the person you are striving to be. It allows you to track your progress and process your failures as you grow as a person in addiction recovery.
Journaling is a Positive Action
According to Psychology Today, the repetitive nature of journaling can be very helpful when you are trying to recover from an addiction. It states: “Anything that organizes your life and makes you introspective and also kind of slows down the urgency of a craving for a drug or behavior can be very helpful.” Journaling is a new habit to replace some of the old, unhealthy habits that came before.
Journaling Allows You To Plan
Journaling is not only about your emotions. It is also a safe place to have a discussion with yourself and make plans. For instance, if you are planning to go to your friend’s wedding and you need to make a plan to avoid wine at the reception, you can think over the possible solutions in your journal.
According to Forbes, “those who wrote down their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write down their goals.” If you want to lay down a plan and see it through to completion, even the act of problem-solving on paper can help you achieve those goals.
At Advanced Recovery Systems, we want to make sure that you are successful not only in rehab but in life after rehab. Contact us today to learn more about the services and support that is available to you.
