The Quiet Power of the Page: Why Journaling Might Be the Companion You Didn’t Know You Needed

by Ella Hutchings, Ella Coaching

I’ve always been someone who could talk things through, whether in coaching sessions, conversations with friends or counselling. All of those moments have supported me in healing, growing, and figuring life out.

But sometimes, talking hasn’t been enough.I’d leave a conversation still holding onto feelings that felt unfinished, or be triggered days later with nowhere to put the mess of emotions. Often, by the time the next session rolled around, I’d feel lighter and end up glossing over what had really been weighing on me.

That’s when I picked up a notebook.

At first, I thought I was simply logging things to remember for later. But it quickly became so much more. Writing gave me a safe, private space to untangle thoughts, notice patterns, and release emotions that were quietly shaping how I felt and how I showed up.

The page didn’t judge. It didn’t offer advice. It simply held space for me to lay it all down.

More than words on paper

Journaling has long been linked to mental health benefits, but the research goes even further: it can support memory, reduce stress, and even have positive effects on the immune system. For many people, writing becomes a gentle way of processing experiences that feel too big or too complex to hold in our heads alone.

And yes, for some of us, that includes healing from past trauma. Not in a dramatic or overnight way, but in the quiet, steady practice of allowing ourselves to acknowledge what’s there, piece by piece, in safety and on our own terms.

For me, journaling became the bridge between coaching sessions and conversations, the in-between place where my mind could rest and recalibrate.

Not just for the heavy days

Of course, it’s not all about the difficult emotions. My notebook now holds celebrations, gratitude, small wins in my business, and those parenting moments I want to remember. On the days where self-doubt whispers loudly, it also holds evidence of how far I’ve come.

Sometimes I write pages. Sometimes it’s a single sentence or a scribbled list of feelings. Every time, it helps.

You don’t need to be a writer and this isn’t a diary

This is the part I wish I’d known earlier: journaling isn’t about being neat, eloquent, or poetic. It’s about being real. Whether your handwriting is beautiful or barely legible, whether you fill a notebook or just jot down words here and there, draw a mind map or even doodle, it still counts.

It’s also not about keeping a diary. By all means write down whatever you want, but when I gave myself permission to just write down what I felt I needed it, or used a prompt as a question, I no longer felt the pressure to remember everything about my day or even write my journal every day. 

I stopped forcing myself and began to want, even need, to write things down to get them out of my head. 

This is where I use it as a tool with coaching clients. Once it’s out of your head, ask yourself: what patterns do you notice? What surprises you? What small action could you take next?

An invitation

If you’ve ever found yourself replaying a tough conversation, struggling to make sense of emotions, or just longing for a moment to come back to yourself, journaling might be the gentle tool you didn’t know you needed.

Start small. Grab a notebook, write one line a day, and see where it takes you.

And if you’d like a little more guidance, I run The Tea & Clarity Club, a monthly journaling and coaching club. I share prompts, we reflect, reset, and reconnect in a cosy, supportive space. It’s bitesize, simple, and real, just like the conversations that happen best on the page.

I’d love to hear from you: have you tried journaling before? What helped you process things between the big moments?