Use Journaling To Unmask The Issues In Your Tissues And Find Solutions

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Back in 1998 I didn’t have the strength to cook a meal without dropping my saucepans, and sometimes my dinner, on the kitchen floor. I had very little function on the right side of my body because I had been knocked down, quite literally, by multiple sclerosis (MS) and the major health challenges that come with it.

A friend introduced me to writing therapy, also known as therapeutic journaling or expressive writing. I immediately had an interest. So, I grabbed a pen and a pad of paper and gave it a shot.

From day one, journaling unmasked the issues in my tissues and helped me find solutions. I was forced to recognize my negative self-image and discover that I hadn’t dealt with the pain of my childhood. With my journal as a catalyst, I began a metamorphosis that involved physical, emotional, and spiritual change.

The ever-increasing body of scientific evidence over the past 30 years that confirms the healing power of therapeutic journaling. In short, the data shows that expressive writing boosts the immune system, and has helped people suffering with asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, IBS, lupus — even cancer and AIDS.

Journaling is recommended as a tool for healing by noted science journalist Donna Jackson Nakazawa, author of Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, And How You Can Heal. In her book, Nakazawa explores the lifelong emotional and physical consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). This includes an examination of the long-term effects of early stressors, such as:

• Being abused or neglected
• Losing a parent
• Living in a dysfunctional family
• Growing up poor
• Witnessing parents going through a divorce
• Living with a severely depressed parent

Early Trauma’s Link To Chronic Illness

She argues that ACEs shape our biology and seriously affect our physical and emotional resilience as adults. Nakazawa reports that early traumas can predispose us to chronic illnesses like heart disease, cancer, auto-immune disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression. She presents compelling evidence that many serious health conditions are linked to stressful events in childhood.

As an example, she notes how she suffered from several life-limiting auto-immune illnesses, including Guillain-Barré syndrome. As part of this revelation, she tells a story of being emotionally devastated as a child when her father, whom she adored, died suddenly, and how this played a role in triggering her auto-immune problems.

She also outlines how chronic adversity can change the architecture of a child’s brain, altering the expression of genes that control stress hormone output. The resulting hormonal changes initiate an over-active inflammatory stress response that persists for life, potentially damaging us on a cellular level.

Adults who have experienced ACEs show a greater erosion of telomeres, which are the protective caps that sit on the end of our DNA to keep it healthy. Time alone does not heal this early damage.

“Your emotional biography becomes your physical biology, and together they write much of the script for how you will live your life,” says Nakazawa.

Her suggestion is to “re-boot” your brain and create healthy new neural pathways using a mindfulness-based stress reduction program with disciplines like meditation, yoga, healthy eating, and therapeutic writing.

“Even if you have no healthcare practitioner to share your story with, you can begin to speak your truth by writing to heal. This creates the experience of seeing yourself for who you really are, perhaps for the first time in your life,” says Nakazawa.

It’s been my experience that writing about my childhood and adolescence has improved my health and wellbeing. If you feel that you had a hard time as a child or young person, I urge you to write about it. Writing about a traumatic experience may make you feel sad in the short term, but that sadness is usually short-lived, as many scientific studies suggest you’ll benefit in the long term.

Journaling Is A Two-Way Street

To fully harness the power of journaling, it is important to understand it’s a two-way street. It’s not just dumping and dumping and dumping (although it can be seriously useful for that). It’s a learning process, too.

For example, you’ll become aware of your deepest motivations and beliefs. You’ll discover that some of your beliefs may be worth hanging on to, while others are outdated and limit the person you want to be. When you come face to face with this situation, don’t hesitate to question your beliefs and adopt new ones!

As you go through this process, make it a point to cultivate self-knowledge. More importantly, remember to also cultivate self-compassion and keep your inner critic firmly in his place. As you explore your early experiences, you may see how your inner critic developed and grew through the judgments and comments of others. However, you don’t have to accept and internalize other people’s declarations about you.

Instead, challenge them!

Just because someone told you that you were awkward or stupid (or any other unjustified description), you don’t have to believe it for the rest of your life. You owe it to yourself to cast off labels others have given you and define yourself in your terms.

When you look back at the past, you will probably feel angry with people who have hurt you. And, you may be mad at yourself for some of the mistakes you’ve made! Decide to forgive yourself, and work toward forgiving others, too. Letting go of anger and resentment is cleansing for you — physically, emotionally and spiritually.

If you’ve been abused, forgiving an abuser is difficult, but it is definitely possible. You don’t have to condone what they did or have any contact with them. However, you need to recognize that holding on to the pain is bad for your health. Your anger will not affect the person you are angry with, but it can cause disease within your body and soul. So, it isn’t worth holding on to toxic emotions that can damage you.

You have a choice to make: choose emotional freedom!

Reprinted with permission from Journaling Power: How to Create the Happy, Healthy Life You Want To Live, 10^th Anniversary Edition by Mari L. McCarthy, (2026, Mari L. McCarthy)

Mari L. McCarthy is a proud Baby Boomer who has been a Journaling Power journaler for almost 30 years. Living with MS for over 3 decades, Mari has been free of big pharma drug prescriptions for almost 25 years. The author of multi award winning books, she is consciously living and creating the life she wants to live. Visit www.createwritenow.com.

Find holistic Writing Resources in the Spirit of Change online Alternative Health Directory.

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