Lifestyle Keeping a Journal: An All-Ages Activity 4/12/2023 | By Donna Brody Journaling offers many benefits. The benefits apply to seniors and people of other ages, to those struggling with trauma and those who simply want to grow and improve. Seniors Guide writer and former teacher Donna Brody offers benefits and guidelines for keeping a journal. A personal journal is much more than simply notes about daily occurrences, which could be done just as easily on any calendar or in a diary. Journaling moves beyond just a “list of activities” and calls for more self-expression and reflection. “Researchers have … found that the practice has many benefits for seniors and can help anyone live a fuller, more present life,” Seniors Guide reported. Top benefits of keeping a journal Recovery and self-care Often, journaling is suggested as a form of therapy for those recovering from a tragic event or personal trauma. “Whether you’re starting from scratch or adding to your self-care routine, know that you’re journaling your way to improving your mental, emotional, and spiritual health,” says A Window Between Worlds (AWBW), which highlights creative art activities. These activities, which include suggestions for keeping a journal, can be used by community and health organizations to “empower individuals and communities impacted by violence and trauma.” A journal can be a sounding board, the AWBW says, and sometimes the simple act of taking time to write in the journal can be a step in self-care that leads to healing from an emotional event. Although not an everyday habit for me, I have found that journaling has helped me cope with stressful periods in my life. After a serious car accident in the ’90s that left me with extensive injury to my hand and a year’s worth of physical therapy, I kept a journal. Just recently, I reread a journal I started in 2019 during the early months of the pandemic. Not only did this activity allow me to keep a record of a unique and scary time in history, but it helped to fill an hour or so in what were long and monotonous days. Journaling the present for recalling the past Keeping a journal doesn’t have to be just an aid for dealing with trauma or killing time though. Rereading a personal journal can take someone back to an earlier time and place in much the same way as a good novel. The difference is that the experience is one’s own. In Joan Didion’s well-known essay, “On Keeping a Notebook,” written in 1968, the author states, “the impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it. Keepers of private notebooks are a different breed altogether.” Didion’s essay continues with vivid examples of things she wrote down in her own notebooks over the years: a description of two very different women she observed while waiting for a train, dialogue of a middle-aged man overheard at a hat-check counter, a conversation between a woman and some men sitting by the pool of a Beverly Hills hotel, and many others. She even included a recipe for sauerkraut in one of her journals. “The point of my keeping a notebook has never been, or is it now, to have an actual factual record of what I have been doing or thinking,” she explains. By rereading these memories in her journal, Didion is able, she says, to “remember what it was like to be me; that is always the point.” These reflections are private and not meant to be read by others, she adds, “bits of the mind’s string too short to use.” Ideas for keeping a journal Journaling can be done in other ways besides scribbling in a notebook. Entries can be written just as easily using a computer or tablet or even recorded orally. Set a timer to remember to write each day. For someone who wants to begin keeping a journal, it helps to have a direction. The AWBW website offers a list of the different kinds of journals that can be used as a starting point. For example: A daily journal that highlights an activity from a particular day or reflects on a happening. An art journal that includes doodles or sketches to capture a thought or feeling. A gratitude journal where the writer reflects on something they are thankful for that day. A worry journal, used to articulate a current worry and then “put it away” or brainstorm solutions for the problem. A bullet journal for those who would rather organize their thoughts by making lists of emotions, problems, things to do, or reasons to be grateful. A dream journal, used upon waking to write down details of dreams that might be clues to deep-seated worries, fears, or feelings. Journaling prompts As a former teacher, I used weekly journaling in all of my high school and college writing classes. Below is a list of some of my favorite prompts to get started. Write about your backyard when you were a child. Write about the best book or movie you’ve ever read. Go back in time 24 hours (or several years) and write about what you were doing. What color do you feel like today? Why did you pick that color? Given a choice, what would you choose: money, fame, friends, family, love? Name three people whose lives have improved by knowing you and describe how. When was the last time you cried and why? What is your earliest memory? (Or: What is the earliest photograph you have of yourself?) What were you doing? What if men had babies? What would you do with the extra time if you never needed sleep? Read More Donna Brody Donna Brody is a former community college English instructor who retired to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She enjoys freelance writing and has self published three romance novels. Besides writing and traveling with her husband, she keeps busy visiting her seven grandchildren.