Diary

Maintaining
Presented By
Sawera Khan
 Diary
• The word Diary comes from diarium, which means “daily-
allowance”.
• A diary is a report in which we include all the things
which we had done in the entire day.
• People most probably include their tragic experiences
which they face in the entire day, and diary is something
which consists of feelings wrapped in words.
• Record of personal experiences
 Psychology behind keeping a diary

● Diaries carry the very own essence of our life.

● It is a gateway to a person’s true self.
● Diary maintaining can help in the reduction of
stress and anxiety.
● Through diary many people have found their
voices.
• It showed them who they are and provided them with a chance to understand themselves better and
make informed decisions in their life.
• It’s a friend in need. We search for the someone with whom we can share our feelings when we feel
down. In those times, diary can be that person. With whom we can confide without doubts, lament
without hesitation and express without fear.
• Maintaining a diary is therapeutic. Counsellors and psychologist emphasize writing therapy to be more
effective. It’s the best way to eliminate stress and anxiety.
• Perks of diary maintaining:
• A study suggest that writing a diary is a mechanism for coping with the need to adjust to hardships,
freedom and challenges.
• It acts as the best way to let out of our intense emotions, such as anger and frustration without harming
anyone.
• It provides the opportunity to self-reflect and self-analyze ourselves.
• It aids in organizing thoughts and feelings.
• Clarity of thoughts.
 Example
So, in what way does it affect my psychology? It makes me calmer. And i don't
necessarily crave someone to talk to or to confide into as i already wrote them in a
book. Its no more in my mind. No more messing up with my daily activities. Not my
concern anymore. Therefore, you get a satisfaction and somewhat a sense of
security. Because, writing it in a book, it doesn’t judge you for who you are, or define
you by your mistakes, most importantly it wouldn’t betray you by telling it to others.
It’s between you and the book. There could never be a safer place than a diary.
 Diary Vs Journal

• Diary is a self-opinionated • Journal is a record booklet

record in which we write in which is to be done prior to
our desired time the required given time
• Used as a record of events. • Used for reflective purposes
• Diary is a personal memo • Journal has a specific
which can be written in any format which includes all
form according to the desire the specific aspects.
• A diary has a log type of format with • Journal has a specific format which
external events and factors. includes all the specific aspects.
• A diary does not include a specific • Journal includes the specific
type of thoughts. aspects.
• Diary writing is a focused type of • Journal writing is not restricted to
writing. writing only.
• A diary is a diary • A journal can be anything portable
• Diaries are written every day • It is not necessary that you write a
journal every day.
 Starting a Diary
Writing can be hard and getting started is usually the hardest part. If you feel like
you don’t know how to write a diary entry, don’t stress over it. You can start writing
about anything. You can even write about how you can’t think of anything to write.
Once you start getting words out, they will start to flow naturally.

● Decide to write
First, you need to decide you want to start a diary. Once you have decided you
want to dedicate time to creating a diary, starting one will be easy.

● Rainstorm what you’re going to write about

Take a few minutes before you begin writing to decide what you’re entry is
gointo be about. Hopefully you have already decided what your diary is about,
so dig a bit deeper into the topic or topics you have decided to focus on and get
specific.
● [Link] an introductory entry
For your first diary entry, try to write an introduction to what your diary will be about.
Introduce yourself, what things interest you, what you think it important and what you want
this dairy to be about. Open up and be yourself.
● 4. Create a schedule
Starting a diary requires that you write in it frequently, but it is up to you to decide how
frequently you want to write in it. Whether it be once a day or once a week, create a
schedule that you can adhere to. The more you can make writing in your diary a part of
your routine, the more comprehensive and helpful a practice it will become.
● [Link] yourself questions
To get yourself writing, ask yourself questions:

● What did you learn today?

● What do you want to accomplish?
● What do you want to fix?
● How are you feeling?
These can relate to your general life, or specific parts of it, but turn inward and ask
yourself things.
● [Link] like you’re writing to a trusted friend
Wondering how to write a diary entry? The best way to write is as if you’re talking to your
best friend. This is your personal diary, for your eyes only, so you should feel comfortable
writing as if you’re talking to a trusted companion. As cliché as “Dear Diary” may sound, it
can really lead you in the write direction in terms of the tone you should be writing in. The
goal of a diary is to discuss things honestly and candidly, as if you were talking through
them with a best friend or family member.

● [Link] them different

Try and have a variety of different entries, so you don’t get bored. You may be writing
about a certain type of topic, but you never want to write the same entry.
Differentiating your entries will also highlight progresses you’ve made and things you
have learned.

● [Link]’t be hard on yourself while you’re writing

Your diary is a judgement-free zone, so don’t feel like they need to be perfect. Let the
words flow.
● [Link] your thoughts in order
Your entries date themselves, so you know when you write what, but also try and
keep your thoughts in order. Your diary will become a journey as you add more entries,
try to keep the narrative something you can follow. For example, try to write about
events in the sequence they happened. Avoid jumping around.

● 10. Have fun!

Writing in your diary should never be a chore or a burden, so remember to have fun
with it. It can be a place of solace, a place of creativity, a place of reflection, a place
where your thoughts can roam free. When starting a diary, make sure you are
writing about things you care about and are passionate about because. As long as
you enjoy what you’re writing and the process of it, you will never miss an entry!
 Benefits to keep a Diary
● 1. Keep your thoughts organized.
Diaries help us to organize our thoughts and make them apprehensible. You can
record daily events, thoughts and feelings about certain experiences or opinions. Journey
allows you to tag and archive your diary entries.

● 2. Improve your writing.

Diary helps you to train your writing. If you want to practice or improve on your writing,
the best thing to do is to start a journal. You may not have the perfect topic. All you need
to do is to start writing your thoughts in Journey. The more you write, the more your
writing improves.

● 3. Set & achieve your goals.

A diary is a good place to write your goals, ambitions, aspirations and new year
resolutions. By keeping them in a diary, you can monitor your progress and feel
motivated to continue to focus on your next milestone!
● [Link] ideas on-the-go.
The benefits of keeping a diary is that you can record all of your ideas in one place
anytime and at anywhere. Whenever an idea comes to your mind, you can write it down
in your diary. You can then revisit these ideas later on to look for new links, form
conclusions or even get a fresh idea!

● [Link] your memory.

Your brain is likely to store information that you have written down in your diary.
Your brain will make stronger connections with the information you have learnt after you
write them down in a diary, making it easier for you to recall in the future too!

● 6. Inspire creativity.
Writing a diary is a great way to unleash your creativity. Everyone has the potential to
be creative, just that most of us haven't discovered it yet. Your diary is the best place to
start exploring your inner creativity. Write down anything that comes to your mind. Let
your imaginations run wild and record it in Journey.
● 7. Relieve stress.
Writing down your feelings helps you to "brain-dump" your anxieties, frustrations
and pains on a diary. This can help you to reduce and release any stress which you
have accumulated overtime. A good way to relive stress is to write in the stream of
consciousness style first thing in the morning called "Morning pages". You can also
use the mood tracker found in Journey to indicate your sentiment level. Overall,
expressing yourself in a diary is a good way to free up any tension that prevents you
from feeling happy.
 Diary maintaining and wellbeing
● One of the ways to deal with any overwhelming emotion is to find a
healthy way to express yourself.
● Diary writing can help one:
○ Manage anxiety
○ Reduce stress
○ Cope with depression
● Diary writing helps control your symptoms and improve your mood by:
○ Helping you prioritize problems, fears, and concerns
○ Tracking any symptoms day-to-day so that you can recognize
triggers and learn ways to better control them
○ Providing an opportunity for positive self-talk and identifying
negative thoughts and behaviors
● When you have a problem and you're stressed, keeping a diary can help
you identify what’s causing that stress or anxiety or what’s triggering you.
Once you’ve identified your stressors, you can work on a plan to resolve
the problems and reduce your stress.
● Keeping a record of personal thoughts and feelings is particularly helpful in
supporting mental health:
○ Breaking away from a nonstop cycle of obsessive thinking and
brooding
○ Improving the awareness and perception of events
○ Regulating emotions
○ Encouraging awareness
○ Boosting physical health
○ Analyze Patterns
 ○ Gain more perspective over your thoughts,
experiences and actions.
○ Express difficult thoughts and emotions that
you otherwise are not able to do.
○ Develop new ideas for personal and
professional projects and goals, it boosts
creativity and ideas are unearthed.
● The positive effects of keeping a diary can even be
felt when not performed daily – helping the
individual better understand their needs and
boosting their wellbeing
● “Research has consistently linked the habitual
tendency to accept one’s mental experiences with
greater psychological health”
 ● Although its not entirely known how diary maintaining helps,
the following psychological processes may be involved, to a
greater or lesser degree
1. Emotional catharsis
An emotional release of unconscious conflicts through
venting negative feelings.
2. Increased cognitive processing
Time spent creating coherent narratives of what has
happened.
3. Repeated exposure
Increased and prolonged exposure to stressful events may
lead to a reduction in harmful thoughts and feelings.
4. Emotional inhibition
Actively inhibiting negative emotions takes a considerable
effort, further stressing the body and mind. Confronting
them may support cognitive integration and further
understanding.
 According to research:
● The research, published in the September issue of APA's Journal of
Experimental Psychology: General (JEP: General) (Vol. 130, No. 3), indicates
that expressive writing reduces intrusive and avoidant thoughts about negative
events and improves working memory. These improvements, researchers
believe, may in turn free up our cognitive resources for other mental activities,
including our ability to cope more effectively with stress.
● It has been found that the people who benefit most from expressive writing tend
to use more causal analysis and express more emotion in their writing, leading
some psychologists to speculate that expressive writing helps people simplify
and organize fragmented memories.
● At least for fairly minor life problems, something as simple as writing about the
problem for 20 minutes can yield important effects not only in terms of physical
health and mental health, but also in terms of cognitive abilities.
● Writing about college stress: improvement in working memory
● In an initial experiment, Klein and Boals examined how writing about a stressful event
affected working memory for 71 undergraduates. The participants completed three 20-
minute writing sessions during a two-week period. Half, assigned to an "expressive
writing" condition, were instructed to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings
about coming to college and to "tie it all together" at the end of their essays.
Participants in a control condition instead wrote about what they had done that day
and how they might have done a better job.
● Using a standard test of verbal working memory, Klein and Boals measured
participants' working memory capacity three times: once before the first writing
session, and again one week and seven weeks after the last writing exercise.
● The results revealed that participants in the expressive-writing condition showed
modest improvements in working memory between the second and third memory
tests. In contrast, control participants showed no such improvement.
 AS A THEARPY

• Emotional expression has been

found to be good for our health
• Enhances our immune system
• Greater sense of well-being.
 CONT…

 Release of emotions
 Writing mediations
 Self awareness
 Ownership of feelings
 Honesty with self
 Stress relief and clear thinking
 CONT ...
• Helps you gain mental clarity
• Helps you to be more creative
• Lets you find your trigger
• Helps you release your burdens.
 DIARY AND PSYCHOLOGY

• Writing Therapy (WT) is defined as a process of investigation

about personal thoughts and feelings .
• The aim of treating specific mental disorders (PTSD, depression,
etc.).
• Writing Techniques for Addressing Trauma
• Writing techniques used as therapeutic strategies to cope with a
trauma.
 RATIONALE DIARY
• Studies showed that writing about emotions in an abstract
sense was more calming than in vivid language.
• Another study by Dr. kitty Klein, “He found that it
increased working memory capacity”

Keeping diaries have

always been a mystery.
 CONT…
• Diaries help us to organize our thoughts and make them
apprehensible.
• A good way to help us to stop, take a step back and reflect on
ourselves.
• Think about how we've changed and what we can do to
improve ourselves.
 RATIONALE…

We chose this topic just to evaluate:

• How its is beneficial for the patients?
• What are its long term effects?
• How much record could be maintained?
• How much it is important for the well being of the patients?
• What are the pros and cons of it?