Journaling has been used throughout human history as a way to record events and feelings. Anyone can use this practice in their everyday life to process emotions and gain insight into their experiences. Journaling is encouraged by many mental health practitioners and is especially helpful as a part of psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and ketamine trigger an altered state of consciousness where we often become more aware of our inner world, which leads us to question and explore our beliefs and values and have a new perspective on life. Psychedelic therapy is an amazing breakthrough treatment with mental health benefits that can help people navigate traumatic events, stressful events, and addictions.
The practice of journaling can make a huge difference in the success of treatment, and is considered a crucial component of a therapy journey. Journaling helps people understand their experiences more deeply and allows them to reflect on the meaning behind their experiences, which may be helpful when as they integrate their insights into daily life.
Why Should I Journal During My Treatment?
Journaling is an excellent way to process difficult emotions and experiences. It helps us understand our own personal journey more clearly and allows us to better connect with ourselves and other people.
The practice of writing can help you make sense of your thoughts and feelings during sessions and can provide insight into unconscious thoughts and feelings that might otherwise remain hidden. The process of physically writing down these insights can itself become therapeutic and improve your emotional health.
The Benefits of Journaling
There are many positive effects of journaling that anyone can take advantage of.
Reduces stress.
Research shows that journaling for only 15 to 20 minutes a day, three to five times over the course of four month was enough to lower blood pressure and improve liver functionality. In addition, writing about stressful experiences helps people manage their stress in a healthy way.
Improves immune function.
Scientists have found that expressive writing can strengthen people’s immunity and decrease their risk of illness by strenthening immune cells. It also has been shown to lessen symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis and combat certain diseases.
Keeps memory sharp.
Various studies have shown that journaling increases working memory capacity, boosts memory, and improves cognitive processing.
Boosts mood.
Journaling has been shown to provide a greater sense of overall emotional well-being and happiness.
Strengthens Emotional Functions.
Journaling is a way to evoke mindfulness and help writers remain present. As journaling habits are developed, the benefits achieved become long-term benefits. For many, it helps the brain regulate emotions while providing a greater sense of confidence and self-identity. Journaling can help people adapt and integrate new concepts about themselves, others, and the world.
You can be honest and express your feelings in writing.
Writing about your experience will help you understand them more deeply, even if you don’t fully grasp them yet. You’ll have time to think about things later, but getting your initial thoughts on paper will open the door for reflection.
You can make sense of past experiences.
By reflecting on your psychedelic journeys, you can gain valuable information about yourself. This effective practice can help you develop new patterns of thinking that may aid you in future decision-making.
It can help you remember specific events.
Writing about your experience can help you recall specific moments or memories. If you’re having trouble remembering something, jotting down some notes can jog your memory.
It can help people in your life understand your experience.
If you choose to share your experiences with a sitter, guide, or your friends and family, they can get a glimpse into how you feel. They can also ask questions that will help you clarify your thoughts.
It’s a great tool for self-reflection and recovery.
If you’re having trouble understanding an emotion or feeling stuck around some thoughts that came up during your therapy session, writing about it can help clarify what you are thinking and give you new perspectives.
Journaling at Each Stage of the Psychedelic Experience
How you journal can look different through each stage of your psychedelic journey. Let’s take a look at how you should journal before, during, and after your sessions.
Before Your Session
Journaling helps you prepare mentally for your therapy session. It allows you to think about all aspects of your life, including problems, fears, hopes, and dreams so you can set some intentions as you begin your journey.
When you take the time to journal and write down how you are feeling about starting the psychedelic journey, it will help you gain clarity and understanding.
You can also write down things that you want to address before your session. These can include any questions, concerns, or worries you may have. This will help you feel like you are well informed and prepared for your psychedelic sessions.
During Your Session
Journaling during the actual psychedelic experience is not generally recommended, but we suggest you take note of your thoughts, feelings, and experiences immediately following your session.
The memories of your psychedelic experience can quickly fade, so we suggest you take a few minutes after your session to write down your memories from this experience. When you note these things immediately following your session, it allows you to dive deeper into your psychedelic experience later on.
What stood out to you? Did you have any overwhelming emotions or thoughts? How did you feel during your session? Exploring these questions will allow you to get the most out of the experience.
After Your Session
After your psychedelic experience, you should continue journaling. Writing about your experience will help solidify your insights. These insights and transformations can often take some time to become obvious to you, and you may continue to gain new insights as you journal in the days after your session.
The journaling process can be beneficial in your healing journey. You’ll continue to gain clarity and process your emotions when you have notes and experiences to refer back to.
Best Practices for Starting Your Journal
Journaling is an important part of your mental health journey, but it’s not always easy for everyone to get started. It takes practice and patience to develop a habit of writing down your thoughts and feelings. Here are a few suggestions to get you going.
- It’s important to choose the type of journal that works best for you. Some people prefer to put pen to paper and put their feelings on paper, while others like to type their thoughts into a computer. Whatever method you decide to use, just remember that expressive writing will give you valuable insights into yourself and your inner world. Your HAPPŸŸ welcome kit contains a journal with guided questions that you can use before and after your therapy sessions.
- Make sure you’re comfortable with your environment. If you’re at home, try sitting on the couch or bed where you feel comfortable and aren’t distracted. You’ll need to focus on what you’re doing, so if there are other distractions around, you may not be able to fully focus on your thoughts.
- Set aside a dedicated time of day to complete your journal entry. Don’t expect to finish in one sitting. It might take you several days or weeks to complete your entries. Just keep working at it until you’ve completed all of them.
- Don’t worry too much about making it sound perfect or focus too much on grammar or spelling. The point isn’t to impress anyone else with your writing skills; it’s to record your own personal reflections. As long as it makes sense to you and you understand it, that’s all that matters.
The Bottom Line – Journaling is a Valuable Tool in Your Mental Health Journey
Writing about your psychedelic experience is a great way to reflect on your trip and learn more about yourself. It can also help you make sense of your experience and integrate new knowledge into your life. Journaling is an invaluable tool that we recommend to all of our clients here at HAPPŸŸ.
As you begin your own healing journey using psychedelic-assisted therapy, remember that expressive writing is a tool that will help you gain clarity and new discoveries to improve your quality of life.
As you embark on your own psychedelic therapy programs or your own journaling practice, it’s likely that you will discover other benefits to journaling that are unique to you and your own healing path. Have fun with these discoveries!
