The Benefits of Journaling in Recovery After Stroke

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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 I’ve been grateful for that decision 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 three 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 and what hasn’t helped.

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 better.

How Journaling Can Help Stroke Survivors

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

With the emotional changes that a stroke can cause, journaling is one way for stroke survivors to work through some difficult emotions in life after stroke.

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.

Additionally, one 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.

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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.

Lastly, a journal doesn’t even have to be written in a notebook.

If you’re anything like me, starting with some voice memos on your phone could be an effective way to start recording your post-stroke experiences.

Whether you choose to write your thoughts down on paper or use a voice recorder, journaling can help you better navigate difficult situations and maybe provide some inspiration down the road.