12 Benefits of Journaling I Honestly Didn’t Expect

From a lifelong journaler

Photo taken by author at a café in Seoul, South Korea.

If you’ve spent even 5 minutes reading any kind of self-help or wellness content at any point in your life, then, chances are, you’ve probably come across advice along the lines of, “Journaling is good for you — you should do it.”

While many people know that journaling is “good for you,” beyond the fact that it’s something many people recommend that you should do, the effects or benefits of consistent and productive journaling are not commonly known.

As a lifelong journaler myself, I didn’t start journaling in hopes of gaining any kind of benefits from doing it. I actually didn’t even know that journaling was beneficial or that it’s something that’s often recommended that people should do, seeing as I started journaling when I was only a preteen.

Over the years, I haven’t always been consistent with journaling. There have been some years where I journaled regularly and other years where there are only a few journal entries from the whole year.

However, when I analyze and reflect on the periods of my life when I journaled more often and compare them to the periods of my life when I barely journaled at all, the differences are noticeable, and help me to recognize what kinds of effects journaling has on me and my life.