Journals

Putting Pen To Paper Is How It Works

When it comes to working a strong 12 Step Recovery program, a most powerful recovery tool is writing in a journal. As the Big Book says, ‘putting pen to paper’ is ‘how it works.’ It is the very beginning point of discovering more about yourself and maintaining your recovery. Writing in a journal can provide a ready way to track your progress in recovery. It minimizes or downsizes the ‘big stuff’ you may obsess about. And it reveals a ‘bigger picture’ of your history, patterns and process. The instructions for taking your 4th step in the Big Book is to “put pen to paper” (64). But writing in a journal is used for much more than taking a 4th Step inventory. In Alcoholics Anonymous, writing in a journal has long been recognized as one of the most important tools for a sustained, long-term, and meaningful recovery. A review of the science of writing-to heal and recovery literature focused on journaling suggests that using tried-and-true journaling methods can also produce surprising physiological, psychological and emotional results. Journaling as a powerful recovery tool provides a surprising number of benefits.

Read all about the why and how of journaling to support sobriety below.