• Identify a significantly upsetting experience:
  • Choose the most difficult, traumatic, or stressful experience you can recall from your entire life.
  • This experience should be something you think or worry about often, try to avoid thinking about, dream about, or feel affects your life in an unhealthy way.
  • If you don’t have a truly traumatic experience, you can write about a major conflict or stressor.
• Set aside 15-30 minutes:
  • Plan for a 15 to 30-minute writing session, knowing that there is no major difference in the benefits observed between these durations.
  • Choose a time and place where you will not be disturbed.
• Write continuously:
  • Write for the entire duration without pausing, unless you are emotionally or physically unable to continue.
  • Do not focus on grammar, spelling, or readability.
  • The key is to tap into a negatively charged memory and express your thoughts and feelings without censoring yourself.
• Write about the same experience four times:
  • Write about the same chosen experience for all four sessions.
  • You can write on four consecutive days, or once a week for four weeks. The order of the days does not matter.
  • The four sessions are the entire protocol.
• Include three elements in your writing:
  • Facts: Write about the factual details of the experience such as who was there and what happened.
  • Emotions: Explore and write about the emotions you felt at the time of the experience as well as the emotions you feel now while writing about it.
  • Links: Include any associations or connections that come to mind between the experience and your past, present, or future, no matter how distant or random they may seem. Try to write in complete sentences.
• Prepare for emotional intensity:
  • Be aware that this form of journaling can bring up strong emotions such as sadness, anxiety, frustration, and anger.
  • You might cry, hold your breath, or feel mentally exhausted after a session.
  • Allow yourself 5-15 minutes after each writing session to settle down and transition back to daily activities.
• Understand the importance of truth:
  • The aim is to truthfully express your experience, focusing on the facts, your emotions, and the connections that come to mind.
  • Do not monitor your writing closely.
• Post writing analysis (Optional)
  • After at least a week, you can reread your entries and circle all the words that reflect a negative state and square all the words that reflect a positive state and compare them across the four entries.
  • Check for coherence in your narrative throughout the four entries.
• Keep your writing private:
  • This writing is for your eyes only.
  • You may tear up or delete the document after you finish writing.
  • If you do decide to share it, share it with a healthcare professional.
• Be aware of potential effects on others:
  • Sharing this content can be challenging for others, potentially causing trauma for the listener, so this should be avoided when possible.
• Be flexible and patient:
  • If the process is too intense, feel free to stop.
  • It is okay to begin with a less traumatic experience, and you can always try again later with the most traumatic experience.
  • The timing of the writing sessions, whether on consecutive days or spread out across the month, does not alter the results.
• Understand the potential benefits:
  • This journaling method has been shown to improve mental and physical health. This includes lowering anxiety, improving sleep, enhancing immune function, and reducing symptoms of autoimmune disorders and chronic pain.
  • It can also improve memory and decision-making.
  • The benefits are long-lasting.

References

• A Science-Supported Journaling Protocol to Improve Mental & Physical Health