How Journaling Helps with Grief

There are many things you can do to help cope with the amount of grief you are 
experiencing after a loss or traumatic incident, but one of the best ones is journaling. 
This is easy to do, something anyone can manage, and provides many more benefits 
even in addition to helping with your grief. Here are some different ways to use a journal 
when dealing with grief.

Write Your Feelings
The first way to use journaling to help with the grieving process is to write out your 
feelings. This can be just writing anything and everything you are thinking or feeling. A 
lot of times, these complex emotions get scattered in your mind, and can feel really 
overwhelming. If you aren’t one to talk to someone about your feelings, then the next 
best thing is to write them down. It creates a therapeutic experience for you, plus you 
won’t have to worry what others think since your journal is private.

Write Your Memories
Another amazing benefit you get from journaling when you are dealing with grief is 
writing out your memories. A big fear people have when they lose someone is that 
those memories of them will fade over time. Start writing down all the things you 
remember about that person, the times you experienced, the first time you met, and 
anything that you want to remember. Not only is this something you can look back on 
later, but it allows you to work through what you are feeling right now.

Write to Cope and Vent
Don’t forget that everything you write in your journal does not have to be positive and 
uplifting. Sometimes you just want to vent and rant, but not affect other people in your 
life in the process. This is the beauty of using a private journal. You are the only one 
who will ever read these thoughts, so anything you are thinking that is frustrating you or 
upsetting you or making you sad, you can write down without any negative 
consequences.

Getting Started with Journaling
Don’t be intimidated by the thought of journaling. It is not as complicated as you might 
think. All you are doing is writing things down, whether you write one thing you are 
grateful for, share a memory every day, or just draw a picture of what you are feeling 
instead of trying to find the right words. The journal can be anything you want or need it 
to be.


