Journaling

Preventing the Crisis

Journaling can prevent crisis by becoming an early warning system. Consider on a large scale that much of what is known about historical, pre–weather records data is from journals. Explorers have traditionally studied the journals of others to glean information that will help them. Journals help the writer detect patterns because the process aids memory. After a crisis occurs, a journaler may return to the pre-crisis entries and identify indicators that foretold the coming event. As post-crisis time progresses, the journaler may recognize the same patterns developing and be able to either interdict the crisis or be better prepared for what is to come.

Maintaining a Frame through the Crisis

For the journaler in the midst of a crisis, writing contributes to the maintenance of mind. The journaler becomes a chronicler of events and, for the moment, is taken away from being a victim to being an observer engaged in documenting what is seen. There is great value to be gained in studying journals from individuals engaged in warfare and catastrophe, where the journaler has detailed his/her view of the events unfolding; these are sometimes written from a personal viewpoint and other times as though the journaler were simply a recorder of the events that occurred around him or her.

A Civil War diary being prepared for digitization at Iowa State University. Civil war journals have provided historians with intimate accounts of the experience of soldiers and civilians involved in the war effort.

Writing about the stress that is felt in times of crisis helps release those feelings into words on paper. Research shows that journalers report they gain hope of coming through the adversity. Writing through crisis allows the journaler to process the information around him or her in a way that promotes process analysis, and many journalers report gaining insight and even finding solutions through the process of writing.

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