Life can be overwhelming even at the best of times, and everyone needs an outlet to help relieve tension. Journaling provides an excellent opportunity to process emotions and the business of the day. For seniors, journaling becomes an important part of memory care and mental health, especially as abilities start to fade. This guide helps you understand the benefits of journaling, with simple ways to incorporate journaling into your daily life
Benefits of Journaling
Memory preservation
When older adults write down their histories and perspectives, they are preserving memories in two ways. First, journaling is a key component of memory care. The more that people write, the more that they remember how to do so. Encouraging remembrance can help to maintain those memories. Second, the journals become a written record that can be passed down to future generations. Adult children may think that they have heard all the stories, but having them in a person’s own handwriting can create a heartfelt reminder decades from now.
Mental and emotional health
Getting older can be a difficult process for a lot of people. It often involves having to downscale activities and even living spaces, which can trigger frustration or sadness. Journaling helps people to process these emotions in a space that is entirely their own. They can write down what is bothering them and decide to share it to alleviate the problem or keep it to themselves as a harmless way of getting it out of their systems. Journaling can be a viable tool to work through difficult experiences and find ways to stay positive.
How to Get Started
Find the right medium
Although handwritten journals tend to provide the most benefits, not everyone has access to this medium. Seniors have preferences about how and where they choose to express their thoughts, just like everyone else. Choose a delightful notebook and a pen or pencil with a comfortable grip. When writing is too difficult, consider limiting the scope of the prompts or using a computer to type. If the current approach doesn’t seem to be working, try a different one. There isn’t one right way to do it.
Incorporate journaling into care plans
Journaling provides a number of physical benefits, including preserving or expanding fine motor coordination and precision. These can be incorporated into care plans as easily as senior transportation. If you have occupational therapy that includes your hands, talk about journaling with your therapist. The therapist may have specific recommendations to help with handwriting after a stroke or injury. Routine tasks can be incorporated into the journaling to make them an enjoyable practice.
Choose simple, open-ended prompts
The best journaling prompts will inspire ideas almost effortlessly. When you start thinking about prompts, aim for simple options that are common to most people. Popular writing prompts for seniors might include:
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· What was your first job like?
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· What is your favorite story to tell?
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· What do you see outside your window?
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· If you could pass along a single life lesson to young adults, what would it be?
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· What was the best piece of advice you ever received?
If you choose, you might want to focus your journaling on a specific subject. You could fill a journal with memories from your childhood or write about what happens each day. To avoid getting overwhelmed, start with one topic and then consider another one once you fill up the first one.
Promote positivity
The goal of journaling is to create a positive environment for people to process their thoughts and enjoy their recollections. Although positivity should be a focus, it should not silence negative thoughts or experiences. If a prompt recalls some frustration or agitation, consider following it up with a simple prompt that encourages positive reflection on the cause of the negativity. For example, if a prompt brings up memories of a bad ending to a friendship, a following prompt might discuss lessons learned or gratitude for the experience. This approach makes space for annoyance without turning the activity into a negative one.
Encourage reflection
Reflection is key to making the benefits of journaling extend outside of the individual exercise. Once people put pen to paper, they often want to share it with others. If your writing reminds you of something special or important you want to discuss, tell friends or family members about it. Encourage them to read your writing.
Even if you don’t want to share, take the time to read what you’ve written. Avoid getting stuck on the condition of your handwriting or mistakes that you made. Allow yourself to feel the emotions that the writing brings up. Once you are done reflecting, let the words stay on the page, content in the knowledge that those perspectives will always be with you.
Journaling makes it easy to write down what you think without having to worry that someone else will read it and judge you. It also provides a great canvas to express the art of your life, especially one well-lived. By incorporating journaling into your life as an older adult, you can help to preserve your memory and maintain your mental health.
Author bio: Kandyse Morales is the Manager of Home Care Services at Hearts at Home Senior Care, which provides caregiving services to seniors and others in the Houston, San Antonio, and Austin, Texas areas. Morales holds a master’s degree in social work from Metropolitan State University of Denver and has dedicated many years to supporting families through a variety of health and human services agencies.
SOURCES
https://miravieseniorliving.com/lifestyle/how-journaling-benefits-seniors-mental-health/
https://www.autumnviewgardensellisville.com/blog/28-writing-and-journaling-prompts-for-older-adults
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