Life Kit Podcast Episode Summary: "How Journaling Can Help You Through Hard Times"
Introduction
In the July 28, 2025 episode of NPR's Life Kit, host Marielle Segarra delves into the transformative power of journaling, especially during challenging periods. Featuring insights from Suleika Jawad, author of The Book of Alchemy: A Practice for a Creative Life, the episode explores how writing can serve as a vital coping mechanism and a pathway to personal growth.
The Sacred Space of Journaling
Marielle Segarra opens the discussion by highlighting common fears associated with writing, such as self-judgment and the fear of the blank page. She introduces Suleika Jawad, who shares her lifelong relationship with journaling:
"I've been keeping a journal for as long as I could hold a pen and have hundreds of journals from the time I was a kid." (01:02)
For Suleika, journaling has always been a sanctuary—a place to express her unedited self without fear of judgment. This practice became even more crucial after her leukemia diagnosis, providing her with a means to process her experiences and emotions during cancer treatment.
Journaling as a Transformative Tool
Suleika describes journaling as a form of alchemy, transforming her inner turmoil into clarity and lightness:
"By the end of writing my way through a journal, I felt that some small shift had been enacted. I felt a little lighter." (01:54)
Marielle adds that research supports the health benefits of journaling, noting improvements in immune function, lower blood pressure, and reduced stress-related medical visits. Suleika's personal journey underscores how consistent journaling can lead to significant emotional and physical healing.
Overcoming Journaling Fears
Many people hesitate to start journaling due to fears of not being good enough or worrying about future self-critique. Suleika addresses these concerns by emphasizing the importance of creating a non-judgmental space for oneself:
"When I freed myself from the expectation that there was a right or wrong way to do it, I found that I wanted to return." (13:00)
Marielle shares her own struggles with journaling, particularly during her breast cancer treatment, where traditional narrative writing felt exhausting. Instead, she turned to lists and fragments, finding solace in their simplicity and immediacy.
Strategies for Effective Journaling
The conversation offers practical advice for those looking to incorporate journaling into their lives:
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Make It Non-Negotiable: Suleika recommends pairing journaling with an existing daily habit, like having morning coffee, to ensure consistency.
"My one non-negotiable is my first cup of coffee in the morning. I sit down at my kitchen table each morning and I write in my journal with that first cup." (02:54)
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Let Go of Perfection: Recognize that journals don't need to follow any specific structure. Entries can be lists, poem fragments, or even visual doodles.
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Use Prompts to Get Started: When feeling stuck, prompts can provide a helpful starting point.
Incorporating Journal Prompts
Suleika introduces several effective prompts from her book to inspire journaling:
- 10 Images Prompt: Inspired by Ash Parsons Story, this exercise involves recording ten images from the past 24 hours. It encourages capturing moments that might otherwise be overlooked, often revealing deeper narratives.
"I'll stream of consciousness write 10 images down that pop into my brain and often they end up telling a very different story to the one I've been narrating to myself about how my day or week has gone." (15:14)
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A Day in the Life of Your Dreams: This prompt asks individuals to envision and articulate a day in their ideal future life, fostering clarity about personal goals and desires.
"It forces me not just to imagine myself in the future, but it also forces me to articulate what I want for myself in that future, which can feel equally scary." (17:05)
Marielle reflects on how these prompts helped her during her cancer treatment, allowing her to document her thoughts and emotions in a manageable and meaningful way.
Takeaways
The episode concludes with three actionable takeaways for listeners:
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Start Without Pressure: Journals are private and flexible. There's no need for entries to follow a particular format or be shared with anyone.
"You don't have to share your journal entries with anyone or ever look at them again unless you want to. So give yourself permission to start." (08:17)
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Break Through Resistance: Utilize lists, sentence fragments, different perspectives, and various writing tools to make journaling accessible and enjoyable.
"The simplest and most important piece of advice is keeping the barrier to entry low and remembering that there is no right or wrong way to keep a journal." (13:00)
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Use Prompts for Inspiration: Whether using structured prompts from books or creating your own, prompts can ignite creativity and provide direction during difficult times.
"Consider using a prompt, the formal kind or the kind you create for yourself." (16:32)
Conclusion
Marielle Segarra and Suleika Jawad wrap up the episode by reinforcing the personal and therapeutic benefits of journaling. They encourage listeners to embrace journaling as a flexible, judgment-free practice that can help navigate life's challenges and foster personal growth.
Additional Resources
For those interested in exploring more about journaling and personal development, Life Kit offers episodes on integrating creativity into daily routines and building dating confidence. To stay updated, listeners can subscribe to the newsletter at npr.org/lifekit.
Production Credits
This episode of Life Kit was produced by Claire Marie Schneider, with visuals editing by Beck Harlan and digital editing by Malika Garib. Megan Keane served as the senior supervising editor, and Beth Donovan was the executive producer. The production team also included Andy Tagle, Margaret Serino, and Sylvie Douglas, with engineering support from Josephine Nihonai and Simon Laszlo Jansen.