Reflective writing and journaling is cathartic. It is an opportunity for you to document your feelings, release yourself of their weight and come back to them when you are ready to understand the lesson. There is a reason why this is an actual therapeutic modality embedded in the field of psychology. It is a coping skill, a gateway to mindfulness, a symptom tracker and accountability partner.
Journaling is an act of self-care, self-love and self-preservation.
Some benefits of journaling:
Helps you give a name to and/or identify feelings about a situation.
Interrupts the cycle of obsessive thoughts that induce anxiety.
Helps you identify stressors and determine ways to cope.
Aids with emotional processing and understanding that moves you toward solution-focused action.
Holds you accountable to using your identified coping techniques.
Journaling is a helpful tool to use in your healing journey. It serves as a chronological record keeper of the onset of an issue, your emotional processing and can help you identify a list of what works and does not. This is the greatest accountability partner you can have...if you can acknowledge change is needed and commit to the process.