Journal to overcome job loss trauma

After job loss can be a hard time. Improve your immune system and physical health through journaling.

Journaling can save your life.

That’s a pretty bold statement. But I believe journaling can help you navigate transition, especially job loss. When I lost my job in 2003, I had a lot of emotions stuck in me. Emotions I felt others might not understand.

Journaling provided a safe release for me. Not long after, I discovered research that validated what I had experienced firsthand.

I believe journaling can improve your physical health, mental health and spiritual health. In particular, writing about traumatic events in your life, or expressive writing, helps you process your emotions. The trauma could be job loss, injury, abuse, loss of a loved one, divorce–whatever you deem as traumatic.

What science says about journaling

Researcher Joshua Smyth, Ph.D, now with Penn State, asked people with asthma and rheumatoid arthritis to write about their most stressful life experience. Participants wrote for 20 minutes for three consecutive days. He told them not to worry about spelling or punctuation, and to write for the entire 20 minutes, even if they had to write about another experience or repeat the topic. The control group wrote about a neutral subject: their plans for the day.

In just two weeks, the people with asthma who did the expressive writing showed significant improvement and the people with rheumatoid arthritis showed improvement in four months.

No medication changes. No treatment plan changes. Just the writing.

According to Smyth, “Putting your innermost thoughts to paper releases intense feelings including guilt, sadness, or anger–emotions that can impede your body’s ability to heal.”

Another researcher, James Pennebaker, Ph.D, of University of Texas Austin, asked people to write about a traumatic experience for 15 minutes for four straight days. He found writing about stressful events helps you come to terms with them. And that reduces the impact of these stressors on your physical health.

Getting started journaling is easy

You just write. When you journal, you make an investment in yourself that keeps giving. You will find hope as you see improvements in your physical, mental and spiritual health.

“Putting your innermost thoughts to paper releases intense feelings including guilt, sadness, or anger–emotions that can impede your body’s ability to heal.”

Joshua Smyth

You don’t need to write for hours. Smyth and Pennebaker used from 15 to 20 minutes, so I encourage you to carve out that amount of time. If you can invest only five minutes, then start with five. The most important things is that you start. And once you start, you may discover you want to keep writing.

Some people like to write before bed to clear their mind. I often write in the morning to let go of stuff, so it doesn’t bother me throughout the day.

Remember to:

• Write for yourself, not your English teacher. This is not a school assignment. You will not be graded.
• Write quickly, without edits. Don’t worry about grammar. Punctuation. Penmanship. Spellcheck. Just write what comes to mind.
• Date your entries. This allows you to see changes in your feelings and thoughts throughout your journey.
• Destroy your entries or not. You can remove, shred or burn entries. Some people experience a sense of healing in that. Others prefer to keep entries. There is no right or wrong way to handle journal entries. You decide what work best for you.

How to use writing prompts

Not sure how to get started? Write about your job loss.

Or you can use the below writing prompts used by Pennebaker. He encourages people to explore the topic. Be honest. Look for connections to your childhood if you like.

• Something that you are thinking or worrying about too much.
• Something you are dreaming about.
• Something that you feel is affecting your life in an unhealthy way.
• Something that you’ve been avoiding for days, weeks or years.

I encourage you to try expressive writing for three to four days. You can continue to write throughout your transition to gain clarity and healing.

The job loss transition can be brutal. You can save your life through journaling. It provides a safe release to get you unstuck, and expressive writing will even promote physical healing. Begin your path toward hope today.

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