The Benefits of Journaling in Recovery After Stroke

Shortly after returning home from in-patient rehab, I started recording some voice memos on my phone about my three-week experience in the hospital and rehab.

I wanted to make sure I remembered how I felt, how I was progressing, and just record some general thoughts on how I was adjusting to life after stroke.

It didn’t take long for me to realize I had many thoughts on stroke recovery and I wanted to remember all of these thoughts and feelings.

On our next trip to the local pharmacy, I made sure to buy a notebook to start collecting my post-stroke thoughts and it’s been a decision I’ve been grateful for ever since.

In fact, I wish I had started journaling sooner, perhaps even while still in the hospital.

Why I’ve Enjoyed Keeping a Post-Stroke Journal

I’ve journaled regularly in the two-and-a-half years since my stroke, sitting down at my desk to write whenever I think of a story or experience that I’d like to remember.

My notebook holding all of my stroke-related experiences has become my recovery manual of sorts – collecting my initial thoughts on what has helped me the most.

However, as more time has passed since my stroke, my journal has also become a place to vent my frustrations and disappointments when I feel like I’m still not where I want to be.

In particular, I’ve enjoyed flipping back to journal entries from well over a year ago just to see what I was writing about at that time. It’s provided some inspiration at times, allowing me to see how things have changed for the positive.

How Journaling Can Help Stroke Survivors

Journaling has long been seen as a therapeutic tool to help people navigate their emotions.

In his book The Resiliency Advantage, Al Siebert writes “Research with many other groups has documented improved coping abilities when people under pressure write about their feelings regularly. The better you become at being able to recognize, verbalize, and manage your feelings, the less you will be vulnerable to losing emotional control or developing cardiovascular illness.”

Research with many other groups has documented improved coping abilities when people under pressure write about their feelings regularly.

Al Siebert

Recent research also indicates that handwriting movements may have a beneficial impact on the brain’s connectivity patterns related to learning and remembering.

A particular style of journaling – known as expressive writing or therapeutic journaling – has been shown to have many physical and mental health benefits, such as improved mood and memory, along with less pain and fatigue.

Some General Thoughts on Starting a Stroke Recovery Journal

You don’t need to be a writer and have perfect grammar, punctuation, or penmanship to start writing about your post-stroke experiences.

Instead, a journal is an opportunity to write your own life story in a manner you find most appropriate.

As a writer by profession, I know how challenging it can be to write a story when you’re lacking inspiration. For that reason, I’m not a fan of scheduling a time to journal consistently.

A daily or weekly journaling practice may be helpful for some people, but I just write about my stroke experiences whenever I have the urge or think I have a good story to tell.

A journal doesn’t even have to be written in a notebook. If you’re like me, starting with some voice memos on your phone could be an effective way to start recording your post-stroke experiences.

If you’ve found journaling to be helpful in your recovery after stroke, drop me a note in the comments to explain why and share some of the topics you’ve written about.