361. Does Grief Journaling Actually Help?
The Widowed Mom Podcast
Krista St-Germain
4.9 • 695 Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2026
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What if grief journaling - something everyone seems to recommend - might actually be keeping you stuck instead of helping you heal?
In this episode, I challenge the idea that journaling is always beneficial, and explain why it sometimes leaves you feeling worse instead of better.
Tune in to learn how to shift from unintentional journaling to purposeful grief journaling. I’ll show you how to question your thoughts, create space from them, and use writing as a tool for growth so you can move forward with intention instead of staying stuck.
Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/361
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before we jump into today's episode, I want to let you know about the mom goes on spring pass. |
| 0:07.0 | For a limited time, you'll get two weeks of support for those frustrating moments of widowhood |
| 0:12.5 | that your friends just don't understand. Like when your brain won't stop spinning at 2 a.m., when |
| 0:18.2 | decisions feel extra heavy, or when you just don't feel like yourself. |
| 0:22.8 | You won't have to sit alone trying to figure it out. You'll be supported by me and a community of |
| 0:28.7 | widows who truly get it, whether you join live calls or just stay connected in the app. |
| 0:34.3 | We're doing this again because it was so popular, but this is the last spring pass I'll |
| 0:39.1 | offer in 2026. Doors close May 4th, and we start May 6th. Go to Coaching with Krista.com |
| 0:46.2 | forward slash spring pass to get yours. Now on to the episode. |
| 0:55.0 | Welcome to the Widowed Mom podcast, episode 361, does grief journaling actually help? |
| 1:04.9 | Welcome to the Widowed Mom podcast, the only podcast that offers a proven process to help you work through your grief, |
| 1:13.0 | to grow, evolve, and create a future you can truly look forward to. Here's your host, |
| 1:20.1 | master certified life coach, grief expert, widow, and mom, Krista St. Germain. |
| 1:27.9 | Hey, they, welcome to another episode of the podcast. Today we're going to talk about grief journaling, |
| 1:33.4 | because this is one of those things that people recommend a lot. And I'm not always the |
| 1:39.5 | biggest fan, and I want to explain why. What I have noticed over the years is that sometimes journaling can be |
| 1:45.9 | incredibly helpful and other times it can quietly keep you stuck and most people don't realize |
| 1:52.5 | the difference. So let's just start here. If you have ever tried journaling and you have found |
| 1:58.5 | yourself writing the same things over and over. Or you finish |
| 2:02.6 | journaling, and you feel worse instead of better. Or you feel like you understand your grief. |
| 2:09.2 | You can write about it a lot, but you still don't love your life. Okay, that's what I'm talking about. |
| 2:14.6 | That's why I wanted to create this episode. And let me assure you that if that is you, you are not doing anything wrong. You just haven't been shown how to use writing in a way that actually creates change. So let's talk about when journaling does help because it absolutely can be helpful. So in early grief, what most people call acute grief, I think journaling can be incredibly valuable. |
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