I Write To Breathe: The Untold Power Of Autistic Journaling
Explaining how journaling is vital for one's health and wellbeing and how autistic people can utilise this.
Journaling is the meditational practice of processing and writing down your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and reflections you’ve had during the course of the day or week gone by and it can be a very powerful tool for self-discovery, stress management, personal growth, and emotional processing. For autistic people, journaling provides a flexible outlet for creativity, self-reflection, ability to build communication with others, and processing their emotions.
A brief history of journaling.
The concept of journaling has existed for thousands of years, dating back to the ancient civilisations of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Chinese, who would write the daily events, dreams, and thoughts they’ve experienced, as part of their philosophical or spiritual practices. Monks and scholars during the medieval times would keep journals as acts of devotion of their association with certain religions and also as scientific observations of their thoughts and feelings as part of conducting mindfulness exercises.
As the world entered the 20th century, journaling become a paramount and therapeutic component of people’s health and wellbeing; which is evidenced by the various philosophers, like: Sigmund Freud with his psychoanalysis theory in the early 1900s to Dr. Ira Progoff with his development of the intensive journal method in 1966 to the modern iterations of exposure therapies, like: cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Where our ancestors used scrolls or parchment paper to journal their thoughts and insights using sharpened feathers and ink, like in the Harry Potter books, nowadays we use electronic devices to write as well as using traditional notepads and ballpoint pens to conduct our journaling exercises.
Various studies over the years have shown that journaling has a positive impact on a person’s overall health and wellbeing and do witness a reduction in their anxiety levels and increased mental state of mind. One study done by Baikie & Wilhelm in 2005 found that expressive writing improves mood, reduces stress, greater immune functions and enhances psychological well-being and that significantly decreased in individuals who journaled for 15–20 minutes over 3 to 4 days, as well as seen a 34% improvement over 4 weeks of daily journaling.
In relation to autism, a 2021 study done from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders discovered that autistic teenagers who kept and wrote structured journals showed better emotional self-regulation and lower social anxiety and using autism-friendly CBT interventions help with identifying triggers of anxiety and building coping strategies, in the efforts of reducing the severity of one’s anxiety over time.
As an autistic person, I initially thought the idea of journaling was a waste of time and I had to overcome many of my biased stances and closed mindset to explore the idea more and actually start to write in a notepad or journal. Most of that perception was really me being a naïve and anxious autistic child that faced many adversities and challenges growing up where it does cause one to have a negative and closed-off mindset. This is something that many struggle with in their lives and still haven’t overcome these limitations when growing into adulthood.
It was only when my anxiety and mental health got very bad that I needed to change things about my overall wellbeing and make proactive steps towards overcoming my highly anxious state and improve my life for the better. It wasn’t an easy journey to take or master and I still have to remind myself to this very day that I can’t take my health and wellbeing for granted and it must form an important part of my daily routines and my life in general.
That’s when I discovered the art of journaling and, with everything going on in my life at that point, I thought that I haven’t got anything to lose by trying it and see how it goes, despite my reservations at the time. I did find inspiration from watching and listening to podcasters and creators on YouTube and other platforms where they talk about health and wellbeing and how journaling plays a big part of their unique journeys of wellness and personal development. Many of them talk about how purposeful and minimalist living has help them live their lives with intention and ensuring that decisions they make will actually make a positive difference to their lives and not hinder or hold them back in any way.
Benefits of journaling for autistic people.
Emotional regulation
Autistic people usually find that writing and articulating their thoughts and feelings on paper rather than speaking them to other people can help and support them with their emotional regulations, which is something that many people on the autistic spectrum struggle with; myself included. That’s not to say that autistic people don’t want to express their thoughts and feelings to others, especially those they can truly trust and close to, but just don’t know how to share their emotions confidentially.
By having a private, physical space like a journal, it provides an autistic person a place to explore their emotions without pressure from others, externalise and organise complex thoughts and feelings, facilitates their efforts of building emotional awareness which can help reduce the severity of meltdowns and encourages self-soothing through expressive writing or drawing through creativity. Example: writing about a stressful social interaction can help an autistic person identify what caused their discomfort and what boundaries are needed in the future.
Improved self-awareness
Journaling can help autistic people with developing a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, for which to give praise for things that an autistic person has built confidence in and what areas they need to work on, like: navigating social interactions and overcoming environments that causes them to have anxiety. It can be used to build a record of potential triggers, patterns, and growth over time that inflames their anxiety levels and encourage self-reflection on their strengths, interests, and sensory preferences.
When writing into a journal as an aid of improving your self-awareness skills, you will find that you gain confidence in your identity as an autistic person and the personal values that you hold dear. It took me a long time to accept my autism after many years of self-doubting and trying to fit in with the rest of society, only to lunge myself into a deep state of anxiety as a result. Example: a sensory log journal might help you to track which environments lead to overstimulation and what strategies do you use to manage the physical and psychological feelings of anxiety or despair you experience in those moments.
Enhanced communication skills
As communication skills can be a hurdle for autistic people to overcome and building their ability to develop and manage friendships with others, Journaling can play an integral part in their development in these areas. Verbally communicating with others can be overwhelming or limiting for some autistic people, which makes written expression more natural or effective for them to do. It can provide an alternative way for autistic people to express their thoughts and feelings more effectively if expressing them verbally is a difficulty.
By keeping a journal and writing in one can help them with structuring their thoughts and feelings before verbalising them and can enhance their language and narrative-building skills, as a key stage of their personal development. It can help with reducing their anxiety surrounding communication and speaking to others by practising in a safe environment and can play a major part in the process of mindfulness as a technique to managing their anxiety levels. Example: journaling before a conversation can help autistic people to rehearse what they want to say or how to set boundaries for themselves.
Supports executive functioning
Executive functioning is something that many autistic people can struggle with, ranging from: planning and organisation to productivity and time management. Journaling can help autistic people with managing and prioritising tasks, setting deadlines for work or personal projects and goals, and provides a visual structure of when they’re wanting to build routines, which is something that autistic people thrive on and gives them reassurance in moments of anxiety and distress.
It helps with tracking the progress of any support measures an autistic person might be using or getting access to, like: therapy or coaching, which will help them overcome and manage their anxiety and mental health, as anxiety is a major cornerstone of the autistic spectrum. Example: journaling in a bullet point list can support autistic people with tracking their goals and forming healthier, positive and constructive habits will influence their overall wellbeing.
Creative expression and development
Autistic people are often renowned for being very creative and have the abilities to develop rich and imaginative inner worlds that can be expressed in various works, but they often struggle at times with sharing these insights with other people; out to fear of social pressure, misunderstanding or rejection. Journaling provides a non-judgemental outlet for autistic people to explore their creative ideas, dreams, beliefs, and visions, as well as accepting and expressing their neurodivergent identity on their own terms.
For the autistic people who are writers or artists, journaling can be beneficial for towards greater storytelling, drawing, writing poetry and other activities that involves creativity of the mind, heart and soul. Using a journal to do any of these activities help validate the authentic experiences that an autistic person has in their mind that may seem to be misunderstood or dismissed by other people. Example: using art journaling to illustrate how the world feels through a sensory lens of an autistic person.
Therapeutic and reflective tool
As mentioned before, journaling can play an important role in an autistic person’s strategy of overcoming and managing their anxiety and mental health and keeping a journal can complement other supportive measures, like: therapy, coaching, or peer groups/communities. It can also help with visually preparing for these sessions, act as a bridge between internal experience and external support, and fostering self-compassion by tracking the efforts you’ve made, not just focusing on the outcomes.
Using a journal on a frequent basis to record your progress of your wellbeing and projects you’re working on, it’ll provide a visual chart of the growth you’ve made and the resilience shown, which makes a stronger and determined person as a result. Example: a gratitude journal can shift focus from daily stresses to moments of joy and/or connection.
The tips I suggest that will help you start journaling and nurturing it well to better your day-to-day life and setting long-term goals.
Buy yourself a good hardback book
It might sound obvious but you’ll be surprised of how many people just write their thoughts and feelings pieces of odd paper floating around the house and there’s no set place to safely write things down where only you can see the contents of it and it’s your possession. If you do it this way, it makes it harder to keep a consistent routine and the benefits of journaling will be non-existent. It’s very important to treat journaling as an integral part of your routine and also treat it as an investment in yourself. As the saying goes: “the biggest investment you can make in your life is yourself.”
You can choose any size of writing book, whichever suits you, but I recommend that you buy either an A5 or A4 size book, hardback preferred, to get started on journaling path. It does take time to build the consistency of a journaling routine but, once you’ve figured out and it makes sense to you, the easier the routine and the act of writing in a journal becomes. It doesn’t need to be perfect or polished in what and how you write but as long as it works for you and your way of processing information from mind to paper, that’s all that matters.
When I started my journaling, I bought an A4 size leather hardback book and it did take some time to build a consistent routine to writing at least a few times a week. I got the hang of it after a while and still need discipline to keep the practice going, so I could feel the benefits of completing the routine and my mental health was making huge strides in the right direction as a result.
Create an autistic-friendly environment that encourages journaling
To ensure that a journaling routine is upheld and encourages writing of the thoughts and feelings you have for the day or week you want to write about, create an autistic sensory-friendly environment where it gives you calm and peace needed to journal your thoughts and feelings without disruptions or judgements from other people. I know everyday things, like: families, jobs, careers, household duties, etc., do take up the most of your time, but never neglect your health and wellbeing and journaling can play a huge role in keeping your mental health in check; which is very important for autistic person to be mindful of foremost.
When I started journaling, it’s important to have the right and safe space that encourages self-reflection and creativity to write out not only my thoughts and feelings I felt that day or week, but also ideas for the Aspergian Journal and where I want to take it moving forward. One valuable exercise I did when I first started journaling was write out my story to date in bullet point format and still add to it as I achieve another milestone. This helps me to remind myself of my journey up to date and always be proud of the progress I’ve made in my life. This is a vital component for those that are using mindfulness techniques to overcome their anxieties and practicing more gratitude in their lives.
Develop a journaling strategy that works for you, and you only
When it comes to developing a journaling strategy, it’s very important that it works for you and meet the needs and expectations you’re wanting to gain from your journaling exercises. Always remember, every autistic person is unique and what works for one will be different for another (what works for me might not necessarily work for you). There’ll be similarities between what methods autistic people use to help their journaling routine, especially surrounding anxiety and mental health, as every autistic person deals with anxiety at many points in their lives.
As part of my journaling strategy, I sit in my living room with calming meditation music playing in the background and open my leather journal book to start writing my thoughts and feelings about the day or week I’ve had or jot down any fabulous ideas that have come to mind to reflection or refer back to at a future date. It’s amazing how many ideas come into your mind before bedtime, in the shower or having a walk in nature. I sometimes put my weighted blanket over me and make a hot drink beforehand, especially in the winter months, to get comfy before I start my journaling routine and ensure there aren’t any disruptions. Mind you, after a while sitting with a weighted blanket on me, it can make me fall asleep in my chair.
Conclusion:
Journaling is far more than putting pen to paper, it's a life-changing practice of emotional healing, clarity, and personal empowerment, especially for autistic people. For many on the autistic spectrum, journaling provides a safe, structured outlet to process complex emotions, reduce anxiety, and strengthen self-awareness. Historically rooted in ancient civilisations and spiritual disciplines, journaling has evolved into a therapeutic tool backed by modern psychology and neuroscience. Studies have shown just 15 minutes of expressive writing a day can significantly improve one’s mental well-being and cognitive thinking.
For autistic people, journaling becomes a bridge between the inner world and the outer one. It enhances emotional regulation by offering a non-judgmental space to explore feelings, track sensory triggers, and reflect on social interactions without pressure. Whether it's managing executive functioning challenges, preparing for social communication, or developing creative self-expression, journaling allows autistic minds to structure their thoughts in ways that make sense to them. It's also a grounding habit, one that fosters mindfulness, strengthens identity, and provides a sense of control in an often chaotic and overwhelming world.
The key to successful journaling is making it uniquely yours. Whether you prefer writing in a leather-bound notebook or typing on a device, what matters most is consistency, comfort, and intention. Creating a calming, autistic-friendly environment, perhaps with soft lighting, soothing music, or a weighted blanket, can turn journaling into a daily or weekly ritual of self-connection and resilience. Remember, you don’t have to write perfectly; you only need to write honestly. Your story, your emotions, your growth, it all matters. Journaling isn’t just about recording your life, it’s about reclaiming and honouring it well.
Sources:
Baikie, K. & Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in psychiatric treatment, 11(5), 338-346.
Relationships Between Emotion Regulation, Social Communication and Repetitive Behaviours in Autism Spectrum Disorder | Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2021).